---
title: "A&W Restaurants Strengthens Franchise Support Team as Sales, Growth Escalate"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/48a36641-fa49-4269-8bf7-283ab044d814
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20191219_aampw_restaurants_strengthens_franchise_support_te.html
category: "Burger"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Burger"
published: 2019-12-19T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:10:08.114Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1561758033-d89a9ad46330?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# A&W Restaurants Strengthens Franchise Support Team as Sales, Growth Escalate

**TL;DR:** A&W Restaurants has strengthened its franchise support team with leadership promotions and new staff positions. The company is also expanding its support center and headquarters by nearly 40%.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2019-12-19. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20191219_aampw_restaurants_strengthens_franchise_support_te.html).*

## Story

CEO Kevin Bazner recently announced four leadership promotions:

- Bill Fry is now Sr. Vice President of Restaurant Support Services and Supply Chain Management

- Sarah Blasi Mueller was named Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Development

- Liz Bazner was promoted to Director of Digital

- Todd Stewart was elevated to Director of Special Projects and Initiatives

“Each of these team members have made very significant contributions to rebuilding the A&W brand and are extremely important to our continued growth,” Bazner said.

Five other team members were promoted:

- Emily Barr, Manager of Personnel and Restaurant Accounting

- Silas Gray, Food Safety and Product Development Manager

- Jackie Wagner, Manager of Field Training

- Emily Fry, Restaurant Support Services Administrative Specialist

- Rob Bryant, Field Trainer

A&W also is creating three new positions to support franchisees, including Director of Operations, Digital Marketing Manager and Supply Chain Specialist. In addition, its support center and headquarters are being expanded by nearly 40%. Last month A&W opened an all-new prototype and learning center near its headquarters.

Celebrating its centennial, A&W is America’s first and oldest franchise restaurant chain. It still makes Root Beer fresh in each restaurant from real cane sugar, water and a proprietary blend of herbs, bark, spices and berries that are served in a frosty mug alongside burgers, fries, chicken tenders and other All American Food® favorites. There are nearly 1,000 locations worldwide.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise support (topic)
- restaurant growth (topic)
- A&W Restaurants (company)
- team expansion (topic)
- Kevin Bazner (person)
- leadership promotions (topic)

---
Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20191219_aampw_restaurants_strengthens_franchise_support_te.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/48a36641-fa49-4269-8bf7-283ab044d814).