Quick Facts

• A Canadian-owned company, A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. opened its first restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1956.
• The initials “A&W” stand for A&W's founders: Allen and Wright
• At December 31, 2023, there were A&W restaurants in operation in Canada, of which 1,044 are owned and operated by franchisees and 10 are owned and operated by A&W Food Services. System Sales⁽¹⁾ for all A&W restaurants in Canada in 2023 were $1.8 Billion. A&W Food Services and its franchisees employ approximately 20,000 people on a full or part time basis.
• A&W serves more than 197 million customers annually.
• A&W Root Beer is Canada's #1 root beer.
• A&W is recognized as a Platinum member in Canada's Best Managed Companies program.
• In 2013, A&W launched new beef which is raised without the use of hormones or steroids.
• In October 2014, A&W began using chicken raised without the use of antibiotics and fed a grain-based, vegetarian diet without animal by-products.
• In January 2015, organic and Fair Trade coffee was introduced.
• In February 2016, A&W introduced pork raised without the use of antibiotics.
• In 2017, A&W introduced in its restaurants A&W Root Beer made from natural cane sugar and all-natural flavours.
• In 2018, A&W began serving in its restaurants the Beyond Meat^† Burger made using 100% plant-based protein.
• Also in 2018, A&W began using real cheese on all burgers and breakfast sandwiches.
• In 2019, A&W began serving the Beyond Meat^† sausage as an option in its breakfast offerings.
• In 2020, A&W launched its new coffee blend and switched to all grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
• In 2021 A&W expanded its beverage offerings with the phased rollout of the A&W Brew Bar™. The A&W Brew Bar offers a variety of frozen beverages as well as hot and cold espresso-based beverages which is now available in over 620 restaurants nationwide. The roll out of the A&W Brew Bar will continue in 2024.

™ trademark of the Partnership, used under license.