A&W

A&W’s origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand to offer a new thick and creamy drink, root beer, at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California. Allen’s employee Frank Wright partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first restaurant in Sacramento, California in 1923. The company name was taken from the initials of their last names – Allen and Wright.
The first Canadian A&W restaurant opened in Winnipeg in 1956. An instant hit, A&W expanded to build restaurants across Canada. Since 1972, A&W restaurants in Canada no longer have any corporate connection to A&W operations outside of Canada. A&W has expanded throughout Canada to become Canada’s second-largest fast food restaurant burger chain after McDonald’s.