New Franchise A&W Restaurants Coming to Charlotte, Las Vegas and St. Louis

• Chain signs deals for nine locations

• 2021 comp-sales up nearly 20%, continuing 2020 trend

So far this year, the iconic root beer and burger chain has signed agreements for nine new U.S. franchise restaurants.

Same-store sales for the first half of the year in the U.S. are up 19.6% over 2020, which was the brand’s ninth straight year of comp-sales growth. Since being acquired by franchisees nearly 10 years ago, comp-sales are up more than 50%.

Las Vegas real estate developers Mike Swecker and Alan Perlmutter signed an agreement to open five restaurants in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, Henderson and other rapidly growing cities.

Veteran multi-unit restaurant operators Ronald and Nadyne Jennings committed to building three locations in the Gastonia and Kings Mountain areas of North Carolina and in the Rock Hill, South Carolina area. They currently are Schlotzky’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill franchise owners.

Longtime St. Louis-area franchisees Jim Sill and Jim Sprick are adding to their A&W portfolio with the conversion of a former McDonald’s in Arnold, Missouri. They also are converting a former bank building into an A&W in Belleville, Illinois, which will be their eighth A&W.

“Both new and current franchisees recognize A&W offers a unique opportunity,” said CEO Kevin Bazner. “A&W is amazingly popular with consumers, and the concept is extremely well suited to conversions and c-stores, which make getting a location up and running faster and more cost-effective.” he added.