My granny used to take me to A&W when I was a little kid.
I’d get the teen burger and a float with the bear straw.

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My mom hated this one.

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Sold in the US by Radio Shack, under the name "Armatron."

There’s almost 20 A&W’s within a 30 minute drive from me E309E161-AA1E-4A89-A969-974CBCECAA0C (resized).jpeg

The A&W I used to go to when I was a kid is now a Chinese restaurant.

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Interesting trivia, courtesy of ChatGPT:

A&W Canada and A&W USA are both part of the A&W chain of fast food restaurants, but they operate as separate entities with different ownership and management structures. A&W Canada is a wholly Canadian-owned company, while A&W USA is a separate company that operates under the ownership of A Great American Brand, LLC.

While there are similarities between the two chains, such as their branding, menu items, and focus on burgers and root beer, there are also some differences. For example, the Canadian menu has some items that are not available in the United States, such as the Beyond Meat Burger, while the American menu has some items that are not available in Canada, such as the Coney Dog.

Despite these differences, both chains share a commitment to providing customers with quality food and a memorable dining experience, and both have a long history of success and popularity in their respective markets.

Boblo island amusement park is closed now. Anyone ever been to Boblo island?

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I had one of those! Regret selling it on a garage sale.

A&W is a staple fast food chain here in Canada. Every city/town with at least 5000 to 10,000 people has one. Love me a mozza burger. Just too expensive now for what it is.

Frosty mug of rootbeer and a side of onion rings was my go to as a kid in the 80s. They also had the drive in style restaurants up here where a waitress on roller skates would come take your order and bring your meal out to your car. Miss the good ol days...

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It's closed now, but the A & W in my girlfriend's town had orange telephone headsets at the horseshoe counter. You sat down, looked at the menu, picked up the phone and "called" your order in. I liked the Creme Soda.

Mmmn. Creme soda was good too. Tasted different then non a&w creme soda. Haven't had since I was a child. Too sweet for me now.

When the drive in restaurants fazed out the waitress they had a speaker to order and someone would run out to your car with your order. I also remember a tray that would attach to the driver's window? Maybe that was when they still had the waitress.

The Canadian side overhauled the image and all the restaurants in the last few years and really nailed it too IMO. Looks like a healthy business to me.

Ours still has the waitresses that run out if you want to do the drive-in. No trays anymore unfortunately. They hand you a bag. It worked out well during Covid. They closed the inside seating but could still pull up and eat.

We like Dog N Suds too when we can. There are are fewer of them around it seems. There is one just across the border in Richmond IL that we usually stop at a couple times a year.

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Some of the last books I read - for some reason I'm really interested in these fast food stories.
Kinda the same as pinball I guess, americana.
That Colonel Sanders was quite a rowdy character.

The A&W where I grew up was a summer staple.
Closed in the winter, drive in with roller-skating car hops in the summer.
It closed and became a chinese restaurant. The chinese restaurant was then torn down and replaced by a credit union.
The root beer floats were great.

We have Sonic drive ins that still do this. You order at your window. Someone carries your order out and you have the window tray as well.

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I saw some documentary on the Colonel. Seems he killed a guy in his younger days.

My sonic has an amazing sunset view. Fullerton, ca. if it can be beat, (the view) I would like to see it. I’ll get a sunset pic.

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We have a few here in Sothern California now, but the ones I know of are at least a half hour drive away.

That one was the first one I saw in California. There's also one in Costa Mesa (also on Harbor Blvd).

PRob a half dozen A&Ws within 30 minutes of me.

Same here. My neighbor across the street has been working there as a store manager for at least 20 years. She got her pick of the best store for profit sharing. She has fed 4 kids with her Sonic job.

I worked there in my teens.
Painted the top of that tower.
It was on the ground when I painted it though.

I had a frog like this in the mid 90s:

Here on the west coast, one sees quite a few A&Ws coupled (in tandem) with another fast food restaurant like KFC. (Called Co-branding)

The First A&W originated out of Lodi CA, where my grandparents used to live.

Just part of my wife's collection of mugs.

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According to the book he did get in a shootout with the owner of a nearby gas station, but didn't kill him.

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Ahh.. the gas wars.

That sure pops the ballon of thinking about a genteel old man in a white suit and wearing a bolo tie.

Here we get taco bell and kfc in the same building BEC39FF0-C38D-4B0F-9973-2285AB647FBA (resized).jpeg

I have a Taco Bell / Pizza hut about a half mile from my home. Across the street is a KFC that used to be co branded with Long John Silvers.
Now Long John Silvers in California is almost extinct. The only one even remotely close is in Gardena Ca. 14 miles away.

We also have the Wendy's/Tim Hortons combo restaurants

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Another fast food fun fact:

Dave Thomas was the founder of Wendy's, another popular fast-food chain known for its square hamburgers and signature Frosty dessert. Thomas worked for KFC in the 1960s and helped to build the company's franchise system. In 1969, he left KFC and started his own restaurant, which he named after his daughter, Wendy.

Dave Thomas also had a hand in the founding of Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips.

I’d have to drive all the way up to Maryland to eat at the closest A&W, but we have Dairy Queens in spades. There are 12 inside the city limits alone. I’ve been to a KFC and Pizza Hut combo. It was in Arkansas I think. I haven’t seen an Arthur Treacher’s in years, but Long John Silver’s is still around here.

I prefer DQ burgers and onion rings over most fast food places. They’re right on par with Harvey’s. (Although I think that’s just in Canada)

The closet town to me is 20 miles. Small farming community of 2500. They've had a A&W since the 90s and about 10 years ago got a Subway. I'd probably say Subway is the king of franchises in small communities. There's towns of under a 1000 people here in Saskatchewan with Subways. Haven't looked in years but Subway used to be the most popular/amount of franchises worldwide.

I have some really fond memories of the classic Pizza Hut growing up. We would meet up with our little league sports teams and have team events and celebrations there. The pizza back then was super tasty-still being made from scratch without additives. The deep dish taste along with a Coca Cola in those classic red plastic cups(Coke taste the best out of these cups) being poured from pitchers. Now I call Pizza Hut-Pizza Slut and the taste is not nearly the same as it used to be.

I love the red plastic cups from back in the day so much I bought a bunch for my home. Nothing like drinking a classic Coca Cola in these red plastic glasses(must have ice cubes )

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I love Harvey's but only get them when traveling to Edmonton. Frings is ingenious. Half fries/half onion rings.

Agree on DQ burgers. Less greasy and surprised at the size. 2 for $7 double cheeseburgers is my go to on the road

Yep, these days it's hard to find a Pizza Hut that isn't take out only. And even when you do, the pizza just isn't the same.

Pizza Hut and Dominos pizza taste like cardboard nowadays. I do like the thin crust with pineapple and Canadian bacon(actually taste better after sitting in fridge for a day or so) at the slut. I found a bomb pizza place here that has pizza just like NYC and other than that I have been buying the classic Red Baron french bread pizza(getting the kids into it-just like I had growing up).

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Totally agree!

Back in the early 80's, I went white water rafting in Pennsylvania w about 5 other guys. We rolled into town on Friday evening and checked into the hotel. There was a Pizza Hut across the street, so we wandered over for dinner. Being young and cost conscious (broke), we asked how much a pitcher of beer was, and the waitress said "Oh, the beer is free". We laughed and said no, really, how much is the beer.... Then she said "We're new here, and they only allow a certain number of liquor licenses and we couldn't get one, but there's no law against us giving away free beer, and it's worth it to get the softball team business. So the beer is free."

We all looked at each other, ordered a pitcher for ourselves, got EXTREMELY drunk, and left a huge tip. I think. It's kinda fuzzy.

We have 4 LJ Silvers in my town. From 5 miles away to 14 miles away. I do not make it a point to visit LJS.

Subway is great for the small town. All you need is the bread oven, the food service counter, the menu on the wall, and a Coke machine.

I'm not sure, but I think all of the food is prepared and shipped in from the franchiser.

Now Subway on the other hand, I have four of them within about a mile of my home.

Of all the franchised sandwich shops, I think Subway is the worst, and I think Jersey Mike's is the best.

Yet to have Jersey Mike's, we like Lenny's.

I'd say almost the complete opposite, but I prefer Firehouse Subs over Subway. Not necessarily "Better", but it's different. Mostly hot sandwiches, and you get a lot for your money. Downside is the closest one to me is eight miles away.
Jersey Mikes, hard pass.

Have not heard of them.

I certainly like Firehouse Subs (though I like Jersey Mike's better), I don't know Lenny's.

We have Subway, Firehouse, and Jersey Mike’s, but I never eat at any of them. We have a local sub shop chain called Zero’s. The original was in an old cottage at the oceanfront. They have been around since ‘67. Their toasted meatball sub is a work of culinary greatness.

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Lancelot link

I was randomly singing this Blatz beer commercial jingle today.
Had to look up the video-

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I agree with your entire post but want to add one additional item. My local Pizza Hut was only about a mile up the road from where I lived and was usually very busy. They had 2 cocktail video games in the little waiting area at the front door.

Video games were everywhere back then but it was uncommon to see cocktails. 2 player games on a cocktail machines are so much more fun than upright machines. It’s also great to have a place to sit your beer/drink and take a rest from standing while playing pinball.

People complain that the take up too much room but when your exterior walls are lined with pinball machines they work well in the interior area. I currently own Millepede, Defender and Galaga cocktails.

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