| A&W Restaurants, Inc. (also known as Allen & Wright Restaurants) is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its burgers, draft root beer and root beer floats.[5][6] The oldest extant restaurant chain in the United States[7] (the oldest being the Harvey House),[8] 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.[9][5] Allen's employee Frank Wright partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first restaurant in Sacramento, California, in 1923.[1] The company name was taken from the initials of their last names – Allen and Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs" – the mugs were kept in a freezer and filled with A&W Root Beer just before being served to customers. |
