RISE - Menu Monitor

A&W Restaurants
Headquarters
1900 Colonel Sanders Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40213 USA
Tel: (502)874-3000 Fax: (502)874-8848
www.awrestaurants.com
Ownership: Private
Segment: Limited Service Hamburger
System Characteristics 2006 2005 2004
U.S. Systemwide Sales ($000) 239,500 245,000 240,000
Company-owned ($000) 6,500 8,000 16,000
Franchised ($000) 233,000 237,000 224,000
U.S. Number of Units 406 449 485
Company-owned 10 13 17
Franchised 396 436 468
International Sales ($000) 70,000 68,000 62,000
International Units 238 229 182
Average Sales/Unit ($000) 560 548 495
Concept Positioning |
A&W Restaurants operates a chain of quick-service units specializing in floats, hand-dipped shakes and its proprietary product
A&W Root Beer. The chain also features traditional American fare such as burgers, hot dogs, French fries and onion rings
YUM! Brands is the parent company and franchisor of A&W Restaurants.
Traditional A&W units are freestanding, and offer drive-in or drive-thru service. Units typically average 2,500–3,500 sq. ft. and
are designed to seat 50–70 guests. Nontraditional units can be found in gas and convenience store locations, regional malls,
strip centers, military bases and airports. The chain also actively co-brands, especially with YUM! Brand’s KFC, Long John
Silver’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell concepts. A&W units sport the chain’s classic orange and brown color scheme and use the
Great Root Bear as its mascot.
Roy W. Allen purchased the recipe for A&W Root Beer in 1919 and began selling frosty mugs of the concoction for 5 cents. He
joined forces with Frank Wright in 1922 to officially name the beverage and form the A&W Root Beer Co. in Lodi, CA. The new
company, beginning as a root beer stand, started franchising in 1923. A&W was incorporated in 1950 and adopted its present
name in 1978. In 1982, it was sold to Taubman Investment Co. In late 1994, Taubman sold A&W to a group of private
investors under the name Sagittarius Acquisitions, Inc. A&W purchased Long John Silver’s in 1999 and Yorkshire Global
Restaurants, Inc. was formed as the parent company of the two brands. In 2001, YUM! Brands, formerly known as Tricon
Restaurants, purchased Yorkshire Global Restaurants. YUM! is also the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,
and is the largest quick-service restaurant company in the world with over 32,500 restaurants in more than 100 countries and
territories. In 2006, YUM! announced most new A&W locations will be multi-branded with KFC, Pizza Hut or Taco Bell.
Menu Positioning |
A&W's menu features burgers, chicken, hot dogs, sides, desserts and its signature root beer soda and floats for lunch and
dinner. Other popular menu items are hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Coney dogs, crispy chicken sandwiches and
crispy chicken strips. Desserts include hard or soft-serve ice cream. Some stores menu regional favorites. The newest menu
addition is the Papa Burger made from 100% U.S. beef. Menu prices range between $3.50 and $6 and checks average $6.50.
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