Roy W. Allen

Roy W. Allen (September 30, 1882 – March 26, 1968) was an American entrepreneur who is best known for being a founder and namesake for A&W Root Beer and A&W Restaurants.

Biography Early life Allen was born in Illinois in 1882 to a Mr. and Mrs. (née Davis) Allen. From there he headed west to California, working as a hotelier.

Career

During his time as a hotelier, Allen came across a chemist while doing business in Arizona. He told Allen that he had allegedly perfected a mix for root beer. Intrigued by the prospect, Allen eventually purchased that recipe. He then opened a stand to sell it at Lodi, California in June 1919, originally charging 5¢. During that era, Prohibition had helped the sale of soft drinks across the United States, and Allen found success in his root beer stand. Frank Wright, joined Allen in a partnership. The following year, A&W opened its first drive-in restaurant, located in Sacramento. To ensure a consistent product across franchises, Allen used a system where the top-secret root beer concentrate was sold to each franchise owner.