photo #4817841

Roy W. Allen opened a roadside root beer stand in Lodi, California in 1919, using a formula that he had purchased from a pharmacist. He soon opened stands in Stockton, as well as five stands in nearby Sacramento - where "tray boys" pioneered drive-in curbside service. In 1920 Allen partnered with Frank Wright, birthing the A&W brand name.Allen bought Wright out, obtained a trademark, and began selling restaurant franchises - creating one of the first restaurant chains in the United States. Franchise owners could use the A&W name and logo and purchased concentrated root beer syrup from Allen. There was no common menu, architecture, or set of procedures, and some chose to also sell food. By 1933 there were 170 A&W franchises.Franchises struggled with labor shortages and sugar rationing during World War II, but following the war GI loans helped, in part, the number of A&W outlets to triple. The proliferation of the automobile and the mobility it offered resulted in more than 450 A&W Root Beer stands operating by 1950. That year Allen retired and sold the business to Nebraskan Gene Hurtz, who formed the A&W Root Beer Company. The first A&W Root Beer outlet in Canada opened in 1956.By 1960 the number of A&W restaurants swelled to more than 2,000.Today, the rights to the A&W brand are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which in turn licenses the brand to the U.S.-based A&W Restaurant chain.Shop over 9,000 old school t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and hats at American Retro Apparel with free shipping on every order: www.americanretroapparel.com