5 ms·

A & W needs to check-in on their franchises. They have gone down hill in terms of quality, or at least tye one near me. I'm not a fast person food guy, but re

A & W needs to check-in on their franchises. They have gone down hill in terms of quality, or at least tye one near me. I'm not a fast person food guy, but recently was hungry enough to go into my local store. $6 for a terrible burger. It was lunch so I guess they made a lot expecting a rush, but this is the first time I thought about returning food.

tylermac1 5y ago
Apparently there's a drastic difference in the quality of A&W between the US and Canada. From what I've heard A&W in Canada is a top-tier fast food chain while it's barely hanging on in the States.
- FractalParadigm 5y ago
  Here in Canada I would go so far to argue that A&W is on-par with a lot of the 'fancier' burger joints, if not better. It's a burger I can't eat while driving because it's so juicy it ends up ruining clothes. Their breakfast gives diners a run for their money too imo, I can go in and order the same kind of breakfast (eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, coffee), all cooked with the same freshness with generally the same ingredients, and be sitting down eating within 5 minutes, where a diner you might be waiting 5 minutes for a waitress to bring you coffee and take an order for your food to come out ~15-20 minutes later. If A&W US took a few ideas from their sister company here up north, they could seriously find themselves in contention for the best fast food in the country
- yissp 5y ago
  Yeah I was surprised by the above comment as a Canadian. I'd definitely say A&W is one of the better quality fast-food chains here.
  - tonyarkles 5y ago
    Me too! If I'm on a road trip and looking for a fast food burger, I'm definitely looking for an A&W. McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's can barely compete with how good the food is at A&W. Good to know that I shouldn't have the same expectation if I try an A&W in the US!
- hdhjebebeb 5y ago
  A&W Canada is kicking ass with plant-based offerings - their veggie burger is delicious, and they're in every rest stop on the highway so I end up eating at least one every road trip
- stewx 5y ago
  A&W has the best fast-food burger in Canada, IMO, with the Teen Burger.
smolder 5y ago
Someone opened an A&W in my hometown (in northeastern US) at some point and it did terribly and closed. Pardon my highly subjective rant, here, but I don't really understand what the appeal is supposed to be. It seems like just another fast food burger franchise, and one that's gone out of style decades ago. It makes me think of root beer, possibly the least interesting (but most sugary[0]) soft drink. I don't think third pound burgers were their only marketing misstep. [0] https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/10/how-sweet-is-it-color.pdf https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/201...
- rileymat2 5y ago
  There are craft brewers doing terrific things with root beer, it is certainly not the least interesting soft drink.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
    You're not seriously comparing craft root beer with the HFCS-laden crap that comes in a 2-liter plastic bottle, are you?
  - Geezus_42 5y ago
    No, just the worst tasting...
  - smolder 5y ago
    Perhaps I should have called out A&W's version specifically.
dec0dedab0de 5y ago
I have fond memories of flirting with the girls who worked at the A&W at my local mall, and getting free hotdogs, in the 90s. I didn't even realize they still existed let alone sold burgers.

tylermac1 5y ago

Apparently there's a drastic difference in the quality of A&W between the US and Canada. From what I've heard A&W in Canada is a top-tier fast food chain while it's barely hanging on in the States.

FractalParadigm 5y ago
Here in Canada I would go so far to argue that A&W is on-par with a lot of the 'fancier' burger joints, if not better. It's a burger I can't eat while driving because it's so juicy it ends up ruining clothes. Their breakfast gives diners a run for their money too imo, I can go in and order the same kind of breakfast (eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, coffee), all cooked with the same freshness with generally the same ingredients, and be sitting down eating within 5 minutes, where a diner you might be waiting 5 minutes for a waitress to bring you coffee and take an order for your food to come out ~15-20 minutes later. If A&W US took a few ideas from their sister company here up north, they could seriously find themselves in contention for the best fast food in the country
yissp 5y ago
Yeah I was surprised by the above comment as a Canadian. I'd definitely say A&W is one of the better quality fast-food chains here.
- tonyarkles 5y ago
  Me too! If I'm on a road trip and looking for a fast food burger, I'm definitely looking for an A&W. McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's can barely compete with how good the food is at A&W. Good to know that I shouldn't have the same expectation if I try an A&W in the US!
hdhjebebeb 5y ago
A&W Canada is kicking ass with plant-based offerings - their veggie burger is delicious, and they're in every rest stop on the highway so I end up eating at least one every road trip
stewx 5y ago
A&W has the best fast-food burger in Canada, IMO, with the Teen Burger.

smolder 5y ago

Someone opened an A&W in my hometown (in northeastern US) at some point and it did terribly and closed. Pardon my highly subjective rant, here, but I don't really understand what the appeal is supposed to be. It seems like just another fast food burger franchise, and one that's gone out of style decades ago. It makes me think of root beer, possibly the least interesting (but most sugary[0]) soft drink. I don't think third pound burgers were their only marketing misstep. [0] https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/10/how-sweet-is-it-color.pdf https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/201...

rileymat2 5y ago
There are craft brewers doing terrific things with root beer, it is certainly not the least interesting soft drink.
- HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
  You're not seriously comparing craft root beer with the HFCS-laden crap that comes in a 2-liter plastic bottle, are you?
- Geezus_42 5y ago
  No, just the worst tasting...
- smolder 5y ago
  Perhaps I should have called out A&W's version specifically.

dec0dedab0de 5y ago

I have fond memories of flirting with the girls who worked at the A&W at my local mall, and getting free hotdogs, in the 90s. I didn't even realize they still existed let alone sold burgers.