The A&W story
On 20th June 1919, Roy Allen opens the first Root Beer stand in Lodi, California to sell a proprietary beverage made from a secret blend of 14 herbs, spices, barks & berries. Soon after, Allen goes into partnership with one of his employees, Franks Wright and three new outlets are established in Houston. The partners give their Root Beer the famous A&W name.
Allen develops the nation's first "car hop" restaurant service in Sacramento, and a year later, the A&W trademark was legalized. In 1925, he begins selling franchises to others, enabling them to open A&W drive-ins and vending booths, thus establishing America's first franchise restaurant chain.
The first overseas A&W restaurant opens in Guam. The international division quickly expanded to the countries of the Philippines and Malaysia in 1963.
The A&W franchise was brought into Malaysia in 1963 by Mr and Mrs Lie Boff from USA. The Lie Boff family opened their first outlet in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman making it the first fast food outlet in Malaysia. This was followed in 1965 with the first Drive-in restaurant in Petaling Jaya.
A&W's goodwill Ambassador mascot, the Great Root Beer is created in 1974 to participate in grand openings and perform community service, such as entertaining at children's hospital.
A&W Malaysia was bought over by KUB in 2001, and in 2008 embarked on an aggressive expansion drive to revamp and expand its reach. A&W Malaysia are committed to providing our customers with safe, delicious meals and operating restaurants that meet the highest food safety standards. This commitment is at the heart of our operations and our supply chain management, and is evident in every aspect of our business - from raw material procurement, including livestock and produce, to our restaurant food preparation and delivery.
