TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2012 /CNW/ - A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. (TSX:AW.UN) is celebrating the opening of its 750^th restaurant, today, at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

A&W has opened 51 new restaurants in the last two years, and more are in development. The opening of the restaurant in domestic Terminal 1 is a highlight for both A&W and Toronto Pearson in that A&W is the first and only national hamburger restaurant chain in Canada's leading airport.

"Opening a new restaurant is always cause for celebration, but this one is particularly significant and special," said Paul Hollands, President and CEO.  "With this 750^th opening, Ontario now has more A&W restaurants than any other province.  This milestone demonstrates that our goal of making more restaurants available to our customers in Ontario is becoming a reality."

"We are extremely proud of the ongoing opportunity to provide great tasting food and friendly, efficient service to Canadians all across the country - and, with today's opening, to people travelling to and from Canada through our busiest and largest airport."

To mark the occasion, Hollands and the A&W team were joined in a grand opening celebration this morning by, Pamela Griffith-Jones, of Toronto Pearson, and, of course, the Great A&W Root Bear™.

"We are pleased to welcome another great food and beverage offering to Toronto Pearson," said Pamela Griffith-Jones, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer at Toronto Pearson International Airport.  "Our guests have been asking for a national burger chain at the airport and we're pleased to be able to deliver on that request.  We are committed to expanding our dining options for our guests as we remain focussed on improving the overall guest experience at the airport."

The Toronto airport A&W features the company's successful, new "Urban Concept" format, which offers the iconic burger family, frosty mugs of legendary A&W Root Beer™ and a selection of salads and several new chicken sandwiches.

The urban-friendly concept also features self-serve ordering kiosks. A&W is the first quick service restaurant chain in Canada to offer customers the convenience of self-order kiosks, which were initially introduced on a trial basis in Vancouver in 2010, prior to the Olympic Games.  Located at the front of each restaurant, the kiosks allow customers to use their debit or credit cards to quickly and efficiently place their orders. The new design sees the menu boards removed from the back wall, and instead placed on the counter with bold photos to facilitate easy ordering for multilingual customers.  It also features environmentally conscious packaging such as reusable French fry baskets, smaller food wrappers, reusable frosted mugs, china plates and stainless steel cutlery instead of paper or plastic — and energy conservation measures.

Since its founding as Canada's first drive-in chain in Winnipeg in 1956, A&W has continually re-invented itself to meeting Canadians' changing lifestyles while creating fond memories and providing great food for Baby Boomers and their families.

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 chain with 750 locations coast-to-coast. A&W Restaurants feature famous trade-marked menu items such as The Burger Family®, Teen Burger ®, Chubby Chicken® and A&W Root Beer®. For more information, please visit www.aw.ca.

Image with caption: "Celebrating the opening of A&W Canada's 750th restaurant, today, in domestic Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport is Paul Hollands, President and CEO of A&W Food Services of Canada, Upinder Dhanoa (middle), A&W Franchisee, Pamela Griffith-Jones, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer at Toronto Pearson International Airport, and the Great A&W Root Bear™. (CNW Group/A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120208_C2553_PHOTO_EN_9854.jpg