-  Majority of Canadians favour revival of car hop service
    -  A&W's car hop service returns to ManitobaVANCOUVER, July 10 /CNW/ - The majority of Canadians in all provinces
want an opportunity to enjoy car hop service at A&W's restaurants, according
to a survey released today by A&W Food Services of Canada. Car hop service was
first popular in the 1950's and 1960's when meals were delivered to customers
in their cars.
    Paul Hollands, President and Chief Executive Officer of A&W Food Services
of Canada, said a national survey undertaken in June for A&W by Ipsos Reid
found that 62 per cent of Canadians indicated they would visit restaurants
that offered car hop service.
    There are a number of locations across the country that will reintroduce
car hop service this year. There will be 21 restaurants participating in
Manitoba, including 13 in Winnipeg. Hollands said A&W re-launched in-car
service at several of its restaurants in 2006, when the company was
celebrating its 50th anniversary, to great applause from many of its Baby
Boomer customers - and the company is again featuring car hop service this
summer at selected restaurants.
    "Canadians across the country fondly recall spending many warm summer
evenings of their youth in their cars with the radio blaring and having teen
burgers, fresh made onion rings and icy cold mugs of A&W Root Beer delivered
by car hops. This is a tradition that is being reintroduced at many of
Manitoba's A&W restaurants this summer," Hollands said.
    Car hop service has been particularly popular in Manitoba and will be
held in a variety of communities in the Province including: Dugald, Selkirk,
Portage La Prairie, Lockport, Steinbach, Brandon, Virden, Winnipeg and
Russell. Car Hop service will be offered at restaurants in these locations
every Tuesday until September. Over 329 car hop events will be held throughout
Manitoba, including 196 events in Winnipeg in 2007.
    Hollands said enthusiasm for the concept was strongest in Saskatchewan
(77 per cent), Manitoba (69 per cent), Alberta (69 per cent) and in Atlantic
Canada (69 per cent).
    Also, in Manitoba and elsewhere across Canada this summer, A&W
restaurants are inviting car clubs and other auto enthusiasts to participate
in more than 2,300 special "Cruisin' the Dub" events. Antique, classic, hot
rod and muscle car enthusiasts should visit the A&W Food Services of Canada
website (www.aw.ca) for details.
    The Ipsos Reid survey also found that A&W Root Beer is the root beer of
choice for Canadians, with a large majority, 67 per cent of Canadian root beer
drinkers choosing A&W Root Beer to quench their thirst compared with other
brands of root beer.
    In June 1919, Roy Allen mixed his first batch of creamy root beer in
Lodi, California. With his growing success, Allen took on a partner, Frank
Wright and, in 1922, the two partners combined their initials - "A" for Allen
and "W" for Wright and formally named the beverage, A&W Root Beer. To this
day, the unique blend of herbs, spices, barks and berries remains a
proprietary secret.
    A&W Root Beer was first introduced to Canada in 1956 when the first A&W
restaurant opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A&W's premier restaurant was located
at Kirkfield Park where a restaurant still stands on the original site. Today
A&W is Canada's No.1 selling brand of root beer. In 2006, 29 million servings
of A&W Root Beer were sold in over 660 restaurants across Canada. This
represents about 17 million litres or 4.5 million gallons of root beer.
    From the 1950's through the early 1980's, A&W Root Beer was only
available as a fountain drink at A&W restaurants. Then in 1983, the company
launched the retail root beer business and A&W's regular and diet root beer
became available in cans and bottles. Today A&W is Canada's No.1 selling brand
of root beer in the fountain drink and retail markets.
    Car hop service will be held every Tuesday night until September at the
following locations:Brandon - 1847 Queens Ave              Portage La Prairie -
    Dugald - Deacon's Corner,               40 - 24th Street NW
     Hwy 1E & Hwy 207                      Rivergrove - 2585 Main Street
    Keewatin - 817 Keewatin Street         Russell - 510 Pelly Avenue South
    Kirkfield Park - 3095 Portage Avenue   Selkirk - 238 Main St
    Henderson - 1403 Henderson Highway     St. Mary's - 1078 St. Mary's Road
    Inkster - 1458 Main Street             Southdale - 10-170 Vermillion Road
    Lockport - Highway No.44               Steinbach - 35 Brandt Road
    Maples - 1265 Jefferson Avenue         Virden - 360 Frontage Road West
    Narin - 1639 Regent Avenue             Waverley - 867 Waverley Street
    Pembina - 1877 Pembina Highway         Whyteridge PCX -
    Polo Park FS - 1520 Portage Avenue      1720 Kenaston BlvdIpsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's
leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities,
Ipsos Reid employs more than 300 research professionals and support staff in
Canada.

    A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. is 100 per cent Canadian-owned and is
one of the strongest brand names in the Canadian foodservice industry. A&W is
the nation's second largest hamburger restaurant company, by number of
locations, with more than 660 locations coast-to-coast. A&W restaurants
feature famous trade-marked menu items such as The Burger Family®, Chubby
Chicken®, and A&W Root Beer®. For more information, please visit
www.aw.ca.