On June 20, 1919, while the citizens of Lodi, Calif., held a parade honoring returning World War I veterans, a young entrepreneur named Roy Allen set up a roadside drink stand to cure the thirst of the spectators. His new thick and creamy drink concoction, root beer, was an instant success at a nickel per glass mug. In the years that have passed, Allen would have been proud to know that his roadside drink stand has turned into a multimillion-dollar international soft drink business.

So favorable was customer response for his root beer beverage that Allen immediately took on his first partner, Frank Wright. With his drink-stand success, Allen wasted little time in opening a root beer stand in Stockton, Calif. He soon followed with five stands in nearby Sacramento, home of the country’s first “drive-in” featuring “tray-boys” for curbside service. Success was rapid and Allen opened two more units in Houston during 1922. It was here that Allen first introduced “A&W” as the brand name of his root beer.

In 1924, Allen bought Wright’s share of the business to actively pursue a franchise sales program. With the A&W Root Beer name trademarked with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, Allen began selling franchises to others. Buying a franchise enabled individuals to use their own capital to open A&W drive-ins and vending booths, thus establishing America’s first franchised restaurant chain. By 1933, there were more than 170 A&W franchised outlets. To ensure the uniform quality of his beverage, Allen exclusively sold A&W Root Beer concentrate to each franchise operator.

Despite government rationing of sugar during World War II, A&W Root Beer stands remained successful. Following the war, the number of A&W outlets tripled as GI loans paved the way for private enterprise. Driven by the popularity of the automobile and the new mobile society, more than 450 A&W Root Beer stands were operating by 1950. In the same year, founder Roy Allen retired and sold the business to an aggressive Nebraskan named Gene Hurtz, who formed the A&W Root Beer Company.

By 1960 the number of A&Ws had swelled to more than 2,000. In 1963, the A&W Root Beer Company was sold to the J. Hungerford Smith Company, the firm which had manufactured Allen’s concentrate since 1921. In the same year, the first overseas A&W restaurant opened its doors in Guam.

Several more ownership changes took place during the ‘60s and ‘70s. And, while the only place you could get A&W Root Beer was on tap at an A&W restaurant, America wanted to enjoy it at home. In 1971, United Brands formed a wholly owned subsidiary, A&W Distributing Co., for the purpose of making A&W Root Beer available on the grocery shelf.

First introduced in Arizona and California, the cans and bottles of low sodium, caffeine-free A&W Root Beer were an instant success with consumers. Retailers nationwide were soon carrying the product. In 1974, A&W sugar-free was born along with “The Great Root Bear,” a mascot that served as a goodwill ambassador for the brand.

Several company purchases and mergers plagued the expansion efforts of A&W restaurants, but the root beer remained the category leader. In 1986, A&W Cream Soda and A&W Diet Cream Soda were introduced and distributed nationally, followed in 1987 by the reformulation of sugar-free A&W as Diet A&W.

In October 1993, the A&W brands, excluding the restaurants, became part of Cadbury Beverages Inc. Today, the A&W brands continue under the ownership of Plano, Texas-based Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages, a subsidiary division of Cadbury Schweppes plc. CSAB is one of the largest producers of soft drinks and premium beverages in the Americas.

In March 2005, A&W began to appear in the Vintage Bottle, a 20-ounce bottle with graphics reminscent of an old fashioned root beer barrel. This look is a perfect match for the brand’s current tagline, “Classic American Refreshment Since 1919.”

Much has changed since Roy Allen first sold root beer from his roadside stand on that hot summer day in 1919. Today, more than half the households in the United States buy root beer. Yet, the one thing that hasn’t changed in 80 years is that people the world over love the rich, smooth, thickheaded taste of A&W Root Beer. Clearly, A&W Root Beer has stood the test of time.

What’s in a name? Roy Allen and Frank Wright combined their initials – “A” for Allen and “W” for Wright to formally name the beverage “A&W Root Beer.”