A&W hosting big party in Lodi, contest to celebrate 90 years

A&W is throwing a birthday bash in mid-June to celebrate 90 years of business, and is offering local residents a chance to win a VIP tour of Lodi's highlights.

Local franchise owner Peter Knight said residents are invited to come enjoy free cake, live music and lots of root beer.

"A&W is celebrating their longevity and specifically not just being here in Lodi, but for being a national American icon for such a long time," Knight said. "We're part of the fabric of the American identify, and we're just proud of that."

A&W will offer free cake for 5,000 people. The cakes, provided by Rancho San Miguel, will have an icing made with root beer syrup.

Knight said A&W's president, Ben Butler, will also be on hand.

The 90th anniversary party will take place on Saturday, June 20 at the Lodi restaurant located at 216 E. Lodi Ave.

To honor the birthplace of the root beer, the company is also hosting a nationwide contest to find a winner for a VIP trip to Lodi, as well as to be the grand marshall of the birthday festivities.

VIP tour package

The winner of he national contest will be selected through an online essay contest. A local winner will also be chosen from a drawing.

Winners, and one guest each, will enjoy a VIP tour of the Lodi area that includes:

Three nights lodging and a spa treatment at Wine and Roses

Several tours and wine tasting at various wineries

Boat tour of the Mokelumne River

Chocoholics tour

Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a local baseball game

Tour of Micke Grove Park and Zoo

Meals at several local restaurants.

To enter the drawing visit the A&W on Lodi Avenue, Food-4-Less, Rancho San Miguel, the Lodi News-Sentinel and the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. The drawing will take place on May 28.

Know your A&W? Take our quick quiz:

1. How much did Roy Allen charge for some of the first mugs of A&W root beer back in 1919?

a) $1

b) a nickel

c) a penny

d) 50 cents

2. Where did Allen get the recipe for his root beer?

a) He learned it from a fellow soldier while in the trenches of World War I. b) It was an old family secret. c) He bought it from a pharmacist in Arizona. d) Trial and error in his own kitchen.

3. Where was the first A&W restaurant outside of the United States?

a) Mexico City

b) Tokyo

c) Guam

d) Winnipeg

4. Who, or what, is A&W's mascot?

a) the Great Root Bear

b) Sudsy the Mugsy

c) the Float Goat

d) the Square Root of Beer

Answers: 1:b, 2:c, 3:d, 4: a.

Source: www.awrootbeer.com

The winner will be selected from a Web-based contest in which contestants submit essays describing why they deserve to be the grand marshall.

Local residents also have a chance to win a place on the VIP weekend tour by entering a drawing at local businesses. The deadline for the drawing is May 28.

The party will also include a car show featuring 200 classic, custom and hot rod cars and trucks.

Roy Allen sold the first mugs of his root beer in June of 1919 in Lodi. Allen would later open a second location in Sacramento, where he is believed to have started the country's first "drive-in" by featuring curbside service.

In 1922, Allen partnered with Frank Wright, a former employee at the original Lodi location, and the two joined their initials to create the name A&W.

The company expanded into a national brand in the 1930s, and the number of locations tripled after World War II.

In 1999, Lodi was home to the record-setting world's largest root beer float. And in June of 2008, television personality Huell Howser was on hand to help dedicate a plaque commemorating the birth of Allen's concoction at 13 W. Pine St., where his stand was originally located.

For more information about the party in June, sand an e-mail to info@awrootbeer.com or call 368-8548.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, May 26 to correct the date of A&W's party as well as the year of Huell Howser's visit and the location of the original A&W.

Reader Feedback

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes