A&W Restaurants, Inc., America's Original Drive-In, Continues 90th Anniversary With Milwaukee Expansion Plans

March 30, 2009 // Franchising.com // MILWAUKEE---A&W Restaurants, founded in Lodi, CA in 1919, continued its 90th anniversary celebration by announcing their plan to open 12 state-of- the- art drive-ins in Milwaukee by the end of 2010.

Doug Heinrich, A&W director development strategy, will announce expansion plans for Milwaukee at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Wisconsin Idea Exchange & Alliance Program, held here March 31/April 1 at the Midwest Airlines Center, here.

"We have been steadily growing in Wisconsin starting around Green Bay, and will continue our expansion south," Heinrich said. "We have loyal following of A&W consumers and fans. We want to meet that growing demand for our brand."

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 thousands of Wisconsin residents 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 Heinrich. "We are creating new memories for new generations by bringing back our classic drive-in in a contemporary way.

"Our growth here is being fueled by franchisees who previously served as owner operators with Sonic Drive Ins and by second generation A&W Restaurant Franchisees."

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% US 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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