---
title: "FOX Business: A&W CEO Discusses How the Worker Shortage and Consumer Demand Could Turn Fast-Food into Drive-Thru Only"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b8a3047c-bf58-4cf9-855f-80604a1dddf2
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-aw-ceo-discusses-how-the-worker-shortage-and-consumer-demand-could-turn-fast-food-into-drive-thru-only-2716955
category: "Burger"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Burger"
topics: ["People","Operations"]
published: 2021-10-26T15:10:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:14:03.202Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/980c671bc70045ebf0a06426944cd780966.jpg
---

# FOX Business: A&W CEO Discusses How the Worker Shortage and Consumer Demand Could Turn Fast-Food into Drive-Thru Only

**TL;DR:** A&W CEO Kevin Bazner discusses the impact of worker shortage and changing consumer climate on the future of fast-food restaurants, prioritizing standalone drive-thru models. A&W has seen same-store sales growth in the high teens compared to 2019, credited to the drive-thru models.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-10-26. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-aw-ceo-discusses-how-the-worker-shortage-and-consumer-demand-could-turn-fast-food-into-drive-thru-only-2716955).*

## Story

In an interview with FOX Business, A&W CEO Kevin Bazner discusses how the worker shortage is affecting the restaurant industry and how the changing consumer climate will impact the future of fast-food restaurants. A&W, the 102-year-old classic American brand with 500-plus units, has been prioritizing the growth of its standalone, drive-thru models, and with good reason. The brand is seeing same-store sales in the high teens compared to 2019, and Bazner credits that growth to the drive-thru models.

2020 also marks the ninth year of consecutive growth for A&W; the brand saw a 9% sales increase last year. The brand is also using the changing consumer climate to strike a balance between nostalgia and a forward-thinking style to appeal to Gen X and millennial consumers. The brand was also recently ranked on QSR Magazine’s top 17 Restaurant Franchising deals.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- QSR Magazine (publication)
- Fox Business (company)
- consumer demand (topic)
- fast food trends (topic)
- worker shortage (topic)
- drive-thru models (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fox-business-aw-ceo-discusses-how-the-worker-shortage-and-consumer-demand-could-turn-fast-food-into-drive-thru-only-2716955). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b8a3047c-bf58-4cf9-855f-80604a1dddf2).