Talk:A&W Restaurants

A&W Indonesia Bomb Blast

This occured recently and should be added to this article.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/11/ap/world/mainD8LAOHBG0.shtml

Description of foods

I'd just like to mention that under Canadian law a "whole wheat bun" must be at least 60% whole wheat flour, the buns we use at A&W are only 40%, therefore we call them "wheat buns", and drop the whole so we don't get ourselves sued

Should it be mentioned that far more people know about the root beer, instead of the restaurant? (Would this be true?) [[User:Rhymeless|Rhymeless | (Methyl Remiss)]] 22:46, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Canadian menu

I cut half this ****** thing out; for a start I don't know how much applies outside Canada, and even if it does, it was tediously longwinded, describing every ******* minor variant (separate entries for "Bacon 'n' Egger", "Sausage 'n' Egger") and even portion sizes. It took up half the **** article on its own, and that was for just one country! #$^#$^#$^#$!!!!!

(At this stage Fourohfour's expletive-censoring machine blows up).

It's still horribly long, and probably needs cut back further. The article should note the major products sold throughout the world, as well as notable special cases. However, adding this much unimportant detail is a prime example of Wikipedia "fact bloat".

Really, I know I'm getting annoyed and mean-spirited about this, but can't people stop and think whether adding such bloat really benefits the article?

Fourohfour 14:32, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

I think the Canadian menu needs to be removed entirely to show some balance or perhaps a seperate A&W menu items artical needs to be created and include the menues from all the countries it serves. Other restraunt articals don't include a menu (that I've seen0 and they only mention certain products (Monster Buger for Hardee's, Big Mac for McDonald's, ect...) that are high profile menu items.

R_Landgren 22:06 (GMT), July 30, 2006

The Canadian version is actually a completely different company, which has had different ownership since like the 70s. It really shouldn't be here at all in any way, their relation is as close as Bell Canada and AT&T really. As for the bloat, most people suck at writing essays, they don't know whats useful and whats redundant, Wikipedia is basically a bunch of essays with a specific format. Hell, I know more than a few people that I went to university with, one even has a law degree now, that don't know how to source properly. As to Landgren, just because other fast food restraunt articles that you've seen don't have the entire menu, doesn't mean its a bad way to do it, what is more important than covering high profile items is the unique items, I like the style of the Canada A&W, as you can't just order a cheeseburger, it lets you know what is similar. There is no reason to put a limit on to what info we do put on wikipedia, we have information on towns that have populations of less than 100 and no notable history. We have lists of not only episodes for practically every show I've ever heard of, but also when it was released, relevant DVD releases, etc. And it is possible to do that in such a way that it does not bloat the article. Personally I'm interested to know about some of the more unique items that A&Ws outside of my own country, and continent, serve. 69.196.184.48 (talk) 07:54, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Menu Items

I'm NetStormer, the one who made all that long winded "bloat". I can see your obvious frustration, but as a fairly new person to this site, I just wanted to make sure that it was complete. I do see that a lot of it could have been toned down.

The only reason it was completed like that is because I work in an A&W restaurant, and I know exactly how everything is made. I now realize that completeness doesn't mean every trivial detail.

NetStormer 20:54, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Hi. Sorry for being such a git about it; particularly as you're a newbie. To some extent, this expressed my frustration with other articles as well. My general annoyance was that some articles have a tendency to build up masses of minor and semi-inconsequential details which hide the woods from the trees.

However, as you can probably see by going through my edit history, I'm just as capable of being as longwinded as some of the things that annoy me. Oops... :-/

Whilst I still think the list could have been shorter and more concisely-expressed, I've nothing against it in principle, and this seems like a good starting point for a list of relatively common A&W items.

A list of the current length would probably be fine if it could cover A&W worldwide, dropping some of the more minor details, and intelligently merging the new stuff (instead of just adding new entries). That needs people who know about them to put them in, so it's probably fine just now.

Anyhow, having ranted above... if people wanted a "complete" (up to a point) list, it could be created as a separate article if necessary.

Fourohfour 21:37, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

I moved NetStormer's new list to a separate article pretty much "as is". As a list, it's fine, but I still feel long lists (i.e. reference) are better kept separate from the body of the article. If it was going to be separate anyway, having its own article at least gives it space to grow (since others will probably wish to add to it) whilst keeping the parent at reasonable size.

BTW, I assume that the menu mentioned in the list is Canadian (Netstormer is Canadian, poutine is *definitely* Canadian!) Fourohfour 13:56, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Oops... should have read "New A&W Menu Page" below; this is what happens when I work through my watchlist in strict chronological order :-/ Fourohfour 14:00, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I went ahead and deleted the whole menu. No other fast food place does that.--Bedford 02:54, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

International - United Kingdom

I have been unable to find a KFC in Ashton-Under-Lyne, I'm hoping (and praying) that someone sheds some light on the whereabouts of an A&W restaurant nearby... Thanks in advance

Hi, I posted the listing of the Ashton-Under-Lyne A&W. The restaurant itself is actually coupled with the KFC on Ashton Moss, near the Cineworld movie theatre. They sometimes run out of rootbeer but when they have it in, it is delicious. There is a picture of the restaurant on http://www.root-beer.co.uk/forum. You may see me in there, as it is also free refills.

Tinpan56 15:36 26th October 2006 (BST)

International - Indonesia

A&W Restaurants are also in Indonesia. Unfortunatly I have no further information about the amount or when the first restaurant opened. But it would be nice if someone could add it to the main article.

• Worked in Indonesia for one year (2006), A&W is actually extremely popular there. Coming from Malaysia, I was surprise to note that they have more A&W restaurants than KFC and McDonalds (both have relatively few restaurants in Jakarta). Menu quite different too (they have rice). Anyway, had stopped going to A&W in Indonesia after some guy (local Indo terrorist) tried to blow up one of their restaurant in east Jakarta. (the bomb failed) --Bukhrin 14:47, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

New A&W Menu Page

I was thinking, that maybe for the menu section, we could make a new page for it. On it, we could possibly put a list of the burgers (like we have now) as well as a chart for availablilty in different countries. I know what the canadian restaurants have, but I've no clue about the American ones nor any that are overseas. Just an idea... if anyone wants to help, that'd be appreciated. NetStormer 01:50, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

This idea kinda fell through.... blech! menu page was deleted about a week after creation. NetStormer 21:50, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Oops... I'm really sorry, I didn't read this until after I'd moved your stuff to a menu page. Worst comes to the worst we can restore it in the main article. Was there an AfD for it or something? Fourohfour 13:59, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

No... I don't believe so... There was a pop up box that said "this article is flagged for deletion, and will be deleted in 7 days, blah, blah, blah" type of thing... What I did with that page is I included everything that we had on the menu portion itself, and added an "availability chart" that took up WAY too much room. I'm not bummed out that it's been deleted... I just don't like the idea of my articles being deleted. NetStormer 01:25, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Me again... just so you know Fourohfour... I went back into the history and copied the text for the menu from before I moved it to the new article. If the menu article is deleted, I'll just paste that stuff in again. NetStormer 01:33, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

No surprise that the page was AfDed and rejected again. In the face of such clear consensus, I'm not about to start making a fuss about it. Personally I still feel that it would be better as a separate list, rather than something which is likely to grow into a major appendage to the main article.

Nevertheless, I've separated it from the main body of the article, and moved it into a more appropriate reference/appendix-type position, leaving a link behind. I hope this is a good compromise between flow/readability and still having the information easily available to those who want it. Fourohfour 10:45, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Just so you know... the idea isn't completely out of the question. I've got a message on my Talk Page regarding this and what we could do to make it a separate article. Check it out, and you'll see that it's not such a boneheaded idea, and that we just need more information on the actual international stuff and differences/evolution through the years. NetStormer 08:35, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Worldwide View tag

Right now this article is way way too Canada centric. If someone could improve that, it'd be appreciated. --Woohookitty^(meow) 10:09, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

I just surfed on in and saw the 'needs a worldwide view' tag, and I have to disagree. This article covers many, many countries. It does have a bit more on the A&W restaurant chain in Canada, but I think if it's been nearly three months and it hasn't changed, then how different can the other restaurants in the chain be? It IS a CHAIN, after all!

The Canadian A&W was spun off from the rest of the chain years ago and is no longer affiliated with the US/international A&W. (On the other hand, Kentucky Fried Chicken actually started as a separate chain in Canada and was merged into the US one in the 80s, but I digress...) Although, given that the Canadian A&W has maintained its market share in its country far more than the original has in the US and elsewhere, I'm not sure if the "worldwide view" tag is justified. Kirjtc2 03:17, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Why this page is so Canada intensive...

I'm the main one working on this article, and living in Canada of all places, That's where I get all my information. I unfortunately don't have any sources to speak of in the US or across seas. So as it stands, Canada is in fact going to be the most reported on. I'm sorry if this doesn't reflect this "worldview" that the one tag is asking for, and I'm also sorry that this article is so Canada intensive, but it's going to have to stay that way until either I can find some time to do intensive research, or until other people from other countries step up and do a bit of editing.

All I'm trying to do is make sure that this page is completed to the best of my knowledge. Seeing as my knowledge is limited to the Canadian chain of A&W, I do find that it's fairly complete. I would appreciate any and all help that anyone is willing to give.

Granted, it may be a big request, but some people who're complaining about how this article has too much information on Canada and not enough about other countries, most likely live in the US. What's to keep you from adding your two cents in? If you don't want to take the time to make room for all your info, then I'm asking you, to please e-mail me the information, and I'll make sure that I add it as soon as possible.

My e-mail is [Removed due to Inactiveness], and please include "wikipedia" in the subject so my junk-mail filter will sort it. Thanks for your time, and I hope that some of you take me up on my offer. NetStormer 18:31, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't have a problem with your Canadian-centric work; the article isn't solely your responsibility, and you shouldn't feel that it is. The tag is understandable, but so long as you're not assuming that Canadian information is applicable in every country (nor are presenting it as such, which you aren't), there's nothing wrong with your contribution. Fourohfour 14:55, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your input Fourohfour (can I call you 404???) I realize that it's not only my responsibility to keep this page up to date. I'm just asking that if people have info, but no time to put it up there, to give it to me so that I can. It's not a big request IMHO. I'm just sick of people complaining about this article rather than helping it grow. NetStormer 06:44, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Menu Items - rebuttal to Bedford

No other fast food place does that huh? Explain McDonald's products... The A&W Menu has the potential to become similar to that. The beginning of that starts with the menu itself. If you feel that the menu itself isn't noteworthy enough, then why keep the link to go down to that section, and why keep the Canadian Menu History (or evolution, whatever I called it)????? Explain yourself please. If you're going to remove something, have a good reason besides "No other restaurant does that" because you are mistaken. Also, I'm putting the menu back on until you can come up with a better reason the menu shouldn't be there.NetStormer 06:39, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

What makes those menu items so noticabele. I mean, wow, it is so notable that a fast food chain sells, wow, hamburgers. /sarcasm You have totally removed the balance in this article. If I had more time, I'd delete more of it, and try to add something that wasn't germainder to just the 5 million Canadians.--Bedford 07:15, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I know this is two months late, but for somebody that purportedly has an IQ in the genius level (I got this from the multiple userboxes that aren't germaine to anything), you may want to a) be able to count (5 million Canadians?), b) not make up words (germainder?) and c) search wikipedia (no other restaurant has an article on their menu?) And, by the way, I assume the eTantrum you threw when you were wholly proven wrong is an inherited condition of "confederate honor". Professor Ninja 05:59, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Uhh, sorry to point this out, but you are the one throwing a snotty tantrum.--Bedford 07:07, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Concerning the UAE...

In one part of the paragraph on the UAE, it's stated that there's "quite a few" A&Ws. Few sentences over, that's become "only a few". Which is it? Professor Ninja 05:50, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Teen burgers

Whats with their teen burgers? Is that like small burgers from the children's menu? -76.4.49.201 00:10, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Going back to the early 1960's, we owned an A & W Root Beer as it was called at the time. Their Burger Family consisted of four sandwiches. The Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger and the Baby Burger. The Papa Burger was much like the Big Mac as you know it today. The Mama Burger was a regular hamburger with lettuce and tomato. The Teen Burger had cheese, onions & one slice of bacon. The Baby Burger was much like the McDonalds regular hamburger minus the onions. Hope this is helpful. Tmccary 02:10, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Teen burgers were a big deal "back in the day". A&W had bacon long before any other burger chain. Dlchambers (talk) 20:45, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

I was a little disappointed not to see mention of the Papa, Mama, Baby and Teen burgers in the article, as well as their use of frozen glass mugs back in the late 60s (at least that's when I remember them). I also have fond memories of A&W drive-ins in Northern California where I grew up. Maybe not appropriate for wikipedia - I'm not experienced enough to know - but thought I'd mention it, as a reader, at least. Yoyolise (talk) 15:01, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

History section

The history section needs expansion. Big time. TenPoundHammer 15:40, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:A&W Logo.svg

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BetacommandBot (talk) 04:58, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Fixed--- Jeremy (talk) 21:17, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Animal burger

We should have some discussion on this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Omgtkkyb1992 (talk • contribs) 15:54, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Somalia location?

Is someone trying to be funny? Or is there a really brave franchisese located there? Vandalism? The grammar and spelling is horrible. --0xDEADC0DE (talk) 00:30, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Decline?

It seems to me that there are far fewer locations today than there were in the early '70s. Does anyone have info as to the # of locations over time? Dlchambers (talk) 20:45, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Cheese curds??

As one of the four listed products in the infobox (along with root beer, hamburger and hot dogs)??? Way overselling the importance of cheese curds, while ignoring everything else on the menu. It should be edited out.--Fizbin (talk) 23:59, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

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Acquisition by YUM

"Before 2011, A&W (besides Canada), was a Yum! Brands, Inc. company." Can we get a date of acquisition by YUM?--Lance W. Haverkamp (talk) 05:51, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

"Better beef"

I saw no mention of the fact that they advertise beef with no added hormones or steroids. Is that new? Is it only in Canada? To me that's kind of a big deal because when my family found out we immediately decided to only eat there if we get fast food--without even trying the burgers again. I expect it's going to be huge for their business if it's a new thing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:E00F:4008:12:0:0:0:38 (talk) 14:38, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

Wrong

"In 1971, a beverage division began, supplying bottled A&W products to grocery stores. The soft drinks sold under A&W are root beer and cream soda (both original and diet), made by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc."

This makes the implication that since 1971 Dr Pepper/Seven Up has made these drinks. That company didn't exist til 86 and Ceased existence in 2006. 198.45.184.25 (talk) 21:47, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

Coca Cola or Pepsi Products as A&W's Soft Drinks

Does A&W sell Coca Cola or Pepsi products? I know that it sold Coca Cola products before it got bought out by Yum! Brands in 2002 and switched over to Pespi in 2003. However, some locations still serve Coca Cola --24.147.1.197 (talk) 21:32, 15 February 2014 (UTC)Jacob Chesley

Since my local A&W is closed for the season, I can't go find out what is served there. But it may very well be up to the local franchise owner depending on what the cheapest contract they can get. Dismas|^(talk) 03:49, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

Edit Request 3/24/14

Could a list of countries where A&W Restaurants operate be put on the page? This also includes countries that had these restaurants but they have since closed. For example Germany had three A&W Restaurants, all cobranded with KFC. However, by 2007, 2 of them converted to being self KFC restaurants and the other one closed down all together. There used to be a list on the page a few years ago, but it was removed a while back during a major editing of the page. --24.147.1.197 (talk) 20:12, 24 March 2014 (UTC)Jacob Chesley

Onsite preparation of root beer

The introduction states that A&W Root Beer is "prepared onsite." Is there anything unusual about the way this particular fountain drink is prepared, or is it a puffery term like "handmade sandwich"? If "prepared onsite" means that pre-made bag-in-box syrup is mixed with carbonated water, then all fountain drinks are "prepared onsite."

The ingredients listing on A&W's website states that as of August 1, 2014, the root beer contained:

Root Beer: Carbonated water, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate, phosphoric acid, and red #40

So, the drink is "made with real cane sugar", but that is not the only sweetener, and there is at least one artificial flavor compound.

I don't want to change the statement to something that is objective but that might contribute to a negative perception of the product. Neither "made with real cane sugar" nor "a mixture of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup" is conducive to NPOV. The statement was removed.

Roches (talk) 12:26, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

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Australia?

I can find no reference to this company operating in Australia. Has someone confused the Melbourne Florida, and Sydney Nova Scotia store locations with places in Oz? JulianL (talk) 10:42, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

I think you're right; I can't find any evidence that it ever had restaurants in Australia. Schazjmd (talk) 14:50, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

It was added by an IP user with no citations (see edit diff). I'm just going to remove it unless someone else wishes to provide a source on the matter. Leventio (talk) 17:56, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

Link to Marriott International

I think it might be interesting to note any particularly successful franchisees, such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Willard_Marriott who got is start with an A&W Franchise in Washington DC that got him started into a major food empire before it ultimately exited food to become exclusively a massive hotel chain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.156.255.250 (talk) 05:21, 4 August 2022 (UTC)