A&W had a humble start, for what was to become both a root-beer behemoth as well as the first-ever franchised restaurant chain. Roy Allen, a hotelier by trade, bought a root-beer recipe and ingredients from a pharmacist in Arizona in 1919. Being the entrepreneur that he was, he soon decided to sell his brew. Allen settled in Lodi, California, and on June 14, 1919, he began selling root beer to townsfolk during a parade. His original root-beer cart is long gone, but a plaque in front of the Beauty of…
