A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (TSX:AW.UN)

VANCOUVER, Jan. 22 /CNW/ - A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. is pleased to announce another strong year of new restaurants openings in 2009. The North Vancouver based chain opened 22 new outlets last year, all of which were franchised. Nine of the new restaurants were in Ontario, which continues to be the key focus of the company's strategic growth activities. A&W opened 20 new restaurants across Canada in 2008.

Graham Cooke, Vice President of New Restaurant Expansion, said that A&W achieved two important milestones last year. "We're proud to say that we have reached 150 restaurants in Ontario" said Cooke. "At the same time, we successfully launched our multi-site franchise development program, targeting Ontario first and then Quebec in 2010". Cooke went on to say that the company is in the process of revamping its franchise website and other marketing materials, with a view to continue to aggressively market the multi-site program to prospective franchisees in both Ontario and Quebec. "Last year's introduction of the multi-site development program is a game changer for us. Since the launch, we have secured commitments for 60 new locations in Ontario alone. These will translate into new freestanding restaurants over the next 3-5 years. The good news is that we're really only getting started".

A&W is Canada's second largest hamburger chain. Operating coast-to-coast, A&W restaurants feature famous trade-marked menu items such as The Burger Family®, Chubby Chicken® and A&W Root Beer®.