A&W Restaurants, Inc., America's Original Drive-In, Kicks Off 90th Anniversary with Announcement of Expansion Plans at San Diego IFA Convention

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San Diego--(// BUSINESS WIRE //)--A&W Restaurants, founded in Lodi, CA in 1919, will kick off its 90th anniversary celebration by announcing its plans to open 15 state-of- the- art drive-ins in 2009 during the annual International Franchise Association (IFA) Convention being held here starting Feb. 14, 2009.

The iconic A&W Restaurants brand, which pioneered the drive-in concept with such All American Classics as its famous A&W Original Draft Root Beer, Papa Burger, Coney Dog and the one-of-a- kind Root Beer Float, is now rolling out new "Drive In Concepts." This provides customers the ultimate drive-in experience named "Three-D Drive In: Drive- In, Drive-Through, Dine- In."

"Literally millions of Americans have an A&W story they can tell whether it was their first frosty mug of A&W Root Beer or their first experience at a drive-in," explained Ben Butler, president of A&W Restaurants. "We are creating new memories for new generations by bringing back our classic drive-in in a contemporary way."

"In 2008, our franchisees saw great success with the Three-D Drive Ins we opened," he said. "We will continue our growth by opening significantly more units mostly in Wisconsin, Michigan and Oregon."

According to Tim Matis, A&W Restaurant director of marketing, the long-running popularity of A&W can be attributed to maintaining quality menu items by using only 100 percent Wisconsin cheese, 100 percent U.S. Beef, and Root Beer made fresh in the store.

About A&W®

The A&W® brand was founded in 1919, and A&W® All American Food® is famous for serving a signature frosty mug root beer float and 100% U.S. beef hamburgers and coney dogs. There are more than 675 A&W® All American Food® outlets in 15 countries and territories around the world, and more than 600 additional points of distribution at Yum! Brands multibrand restaurants. A&W Restaurants, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Louisville, Ky.

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