Perhaps it was Americans’ taste for familiar comfort foods and summer treats, like A&W Root Beer Floats. Or maybe it was our franchisees’ ability to quickly adapt to customers’ changing needs. Whatever the reason, new data shows A&W’s comparable sales, which were up double digits in July for the third straight month, are running far ahead of other limited-service burger chains. Click here to read more.
by Dave Crowley, Director of Franchising Recruitment
C-store and travel center owners are finding the A&W Root Beer they pour is more valuable these days than the gas they pump. Even with drivers staying off the roads because of the coronavirus pandemic, June sales at A&W’s convenience and gas locations were up double-digits. You will soon see more C&G A&Ws, too. Click here to learn more.
By Dave Crowley, Director of Franchise Recruitment
We’re pretty darn happy at A&W these days, despite all the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. It took a huge effort by our franchisees, however, our May sales topped last year’s by a whole lot.
While the future of many restaurant brands is in question, it’s very rewarding to see our franchise partners succeed. We’re equally pleased to be hearing from so many prospective franchisees.
To help them get started, we’re reducing royalties and initial fees. You can read more about both our sales and incentives here.
If you want a lot of business, you need a lot of buzz.
Luckily, generating buzz happens to be one of the things we do well. A&W’s social media game is strong, and when you combine that with our restaurants’ hip nostalgia, you have a referral network that can drive serious brand engagement.
As QSR Magazine reported recently, “The same technology spreading this word-of-mouth culture also enables brands and marketers to leverage consumer insights to improve, course correct, and discover competitive differentiators that weren’t so clear before. And all without pencils and comment cards.”
According to the analytics platform Netbase, A&W ranked No. 1 in net sentiment for the quick service category at 84%, with a passion intensity score of 87%, landing us at No. 2. This means that not only do fans love us, they really REALLY love us. Combining the two scores, we came in at No. 3 with an 81% brand passion index, just behind Taco Bell, in a ranking of 100 quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. The research company also gave us high marks for social strategy, saying we are labeled by many consumers as their “favorite corporate Twitter account” thanks to strategic use of hashtags for special events including #FreeMugFriday, #RootBeerFloatDay and #AWcademyAwards.
“Social allows restaurants to tap into consumer trends and discover what needs to be changed, and what current brand qualities should be emphasized,” QSR magazine writes. “It’s unbridled opportunity to drive not just engagement, but authentic interactions.”
A&W may have an edge over other fast food franchises, since we were first. We’re celebrating our 100th anniversary this year along with a brand resurgence which has been growing since a core group of franchisees bought the franchise in 2011.
We stay modern with sophisticated targeting and digital engagement while embracing our roots in those areas that have meaning to our fan base. Our customers come not just for the all-American comfort food we offer, but also for the nostalgia. Guests fondly remember the days of the drive-in and want their own kids and grandkids to have a similar experience, like enjoying the cold, delicious Root Beer we make in stores daily.
We have 600+ franchises locations nationwide and are continuing to grow strategically. Please explore our website and request our free Franchise Information Report to learn more. We look forward to hearing from you!
A&W Restaurants has had a banner year, celebrating our 100th anniversary in business. At 576 locations open or in development nationwide, we’re continuing to strategically grow our brand.
A&W Restaurants have been known and loved for a century, and in a recent article in Restaurant Business magazine, Chairman Dale Mulder shared some of his personal history with A&W. He’s seen quite a lot of it.
Mulder, a multi-unit franchisee with 15 stores who previously served as President of A&W Restaurants Inc., is “enthusiastically watching how the 100-year-old operation is preparing itself for its next century — in large part by trying to remain true to its past,” the magazine wrote.
“I’d say 90, 95% of our success comes from getting back to our roots—having frozen mugs in every restaurant, getting back to making A&W in every restaurant,” Mulder told the magazine.
Mulder, as our longest-standing franchisee, has witnessed “virtually every key development for the restaurant brand” in the past 70 years, first as a customer, later as a food company salesman for A&W and eventually as a franchisee and later, President.
Through different owners and consumer trends, the brand has sailed through ups and downs. As the magazine wrote, “A&W has experienced a brand resurgence. About two years ago, the chain’s 600 U.S. restaurants resumed making their root beer on premise, using sugar and a wooden paddle like the one that stirred the mugful Mulder tipped back as a boy. The chain’s signature product is served once again in a frosty mug like the one Mulder clutched, not the paper cups that crept into use as A&W aged.
“But recapturing the delight he knew as a boy is ‘what’ll build our brand back,’ says Mulder, noting that a new A&W unit took in $11,000 on its first day in business. ‘We’re 98% there.’”
The most significant development in recent history was in 2011, when Yum Brands decided to sell off A&W. That’s when “Mulder reached out to A&W’s Asian franchisee and the U.S. franchise community to buy the chain. ‘Now we control our own destiny,’ he says.
“The first call Mulder remembers making as he put together the buying group was to Kevin Bazner, a former executive of A&W… He agreed to come aboard as CEO, with the mission of recapturing the brand’s former glory.
“‘He’s done a fabulous job for us,’ Mulder says. ‘We’re back in a growth mode. We have 16 or 17 restaurants under development.’”
As for Bazner, he believes A&W’s secret to the last 100 years will take us through the next 100 equally well: operational excellence.
“The one thing that’s been consistently there throughout all our years in business is our operators,” Bazner says. “Through all our ups and downs, it always comes back to our operators. Their tenacity, their sheer willpower, have really made A&W what it is today.”
What it is today is a nearly 600-unit chain of restaurants that is counted among America’s favorite brands. Our franchisees have enjoyed 32% average same-store sales increases since 2011, and our executive leadership hasn’t changed in that time — unlike the turnover many brands experience.
We understand the need to stay current — our social media presence is very popular among consumers — while also remaining true to the things that customers have always loved about A&W Restaurants.
A&W is focusing on building out our freestanding restaurants, and we welcome multi- and single-unit investors alike to join our franchise family.
Fill out the form on this page to start a conversation, or explore our website to learn more about the franchise opportunity with A&W Restaurants. We look forward to hearing from you!
CEO Kevin Bazner and his team are focused on generating bottom line results for franchisees. To help new franchisees get off to a great start, that includes reduced royalties for the first years in operation.
A&W celebrated 100 years in business this year, and we’re already looking toward our next century in business. As we execute our aggressive growth plans, we want to sweeten the pot for savvy investors to help us build the brand.
Our Second Century Growth Initiative reduces royalties for all new franchise partners in the U.S. through the end of 2019. Our leadership team is anticipating a lot of growth in areas where our brand is already known and beloved, as well as in less developed territories. The reduced royalty program, combined with our new store redesign, will help propel that growth.
Since being acquired from YUM! Brands in 2011, A&W has opened more than 60 new U.S restaurants; 15 are planned for 2019. Same-store sales on average have grown more than 32%.
The brand was bought by a core group of franchisees, and that puts us in a unique position to make the decisions that are best for our franchisees — and our brand overall — in the long-term. We wanted to entice experienced entrepreneurs to our franchise, and lower royalties will allow them more flexibility in their first few operating years, which is crucial to success.
A&W franchise costs are accessible, with an average startup investment ranging from $269,000 to $1.2 million. With a reduction in first-year royalties for new operators from 5% to 2%, that means having more money to re-invest in your business wherever it may be needed in that important first year. The royalties are adjusted to 3% in the second year and to 4% in the third, before returning to 5% in the fourth year.
You know we’ve been in business for 100 years, but do you know why?
Operational excellence.
“The one thing that’s been consistently there throughout all our years in business is our operators,” says CEO Kevin Bazner. “Through all our ups and downs, it always comes back to our operators. Their tenacity, their sheer willpower, have really made A&W what it is today.”
A&W is a brand that’s known and loved nationwide. We’re a large chain with nearly 600 locations, but we still have a lot of territory availability. We also have a strong balance sheet and a stable leadership team to ensure brand consistency.
We keep our standards high and we keep looking at how we can grow stronger and better. A&W has no exit strategy because we’re owned by franchisees — our people are the brand. Everything we do, we do with franchisees and bottom-line profitability in mind.
You can discover more about our franchise offering by filling out the form on this page. You can also continue to explore our website to learn more about A&W franchise costs and the benefits of investing in our restaurant franchise opportunity. We look forward to hearing from you!
