---
title: "A&W Restaurants signs development deals with 10 new franchisees"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/72203f97-1dc7-4c16-a0d2-6b9e7a7e9ecb
source: "Global Franchise"
original_url: https://www.global-franchise.com/news/aw-restaurants-signs-development-deals-with-10-new-franchisees
author: "Kieran M"
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2020-06-25T08:50:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T16:26:48.799Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1568901346375-23c9450c58cd?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# A&W Restaurants signs development deals with 10 new franchisees

**TL;DR:** A&W Restaurants has signed development deals with 10 new franchisees to open new locations across the US. The brand is incentivizing franchise ownership by lowering royalties in the first year of new agreements.

*By Kieran M, originally published in Global Franchise on 2020-06-25. [Read the original](https://www.global-franchise.com/news/aw-restaurants-signs-development-deals-with-10-new-franchisees).*

## Story

A&W Restaurants, the 101-year-old restaurant franchise with more than 900 locations in the U.S. and Asia, has announced several new restaurants nationwide as a result of recent agreements signed with 10 new franchisees. Having opening 12 restaurants in the past 18 months, A&W now has 16 in development, with four being built by current franchisees.

“A&W truly is an all-American business opportunity that performs very well in all areas of the country,” said CEO Kevin Bazner. He noted that in a recent national poll of 15,000 respondents, 74 per cent had eaten at an A&W.

The new locations will be developed in major cities across the States, such as Chicago and St. Louis, as well as mid-size and smaller communities. Seven of the 16 in development are set to be located in convenience stores and travel centers.

“The pandemic is sadly forcing many stores, as well as independent and other chain restaurants, to close permanently,” Bazner said. “We expect more new franchisees will capitalize on these real estate opportunities and convert facilities that once housed other restaurant brands or businesses to A&Ws.”

To incentivize franchise ownership, A&W is lowering royalties in the first year of all new franchise agreements from five per cent to three per cent, with second-year royalties climbing to four per cent. Initial fees on multi-unit agreements are also being discounted.

## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- Global Franchise (publication)
- Kieran M (person)
- franchise agreements (topic)
- A&W Restaurants (company)
- royalty incentives (topic)

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Originally reported by Kieran M, Global Franchise (https://www.global-franchise.com/news/aw-restaurants-signs-development-deals-with-10-new-franchisees). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/72203f97-1dc7-4c16-a0d2-6b9e7a7e9ecb).