Before sliced bread. Before the drive through. Before the golden arches or the whopper or the Colonel’s secret recipe. There was A&W. For more than a century now, A&W has been serving root beer and happiness. They started with a little stand during the homecoming of World War 1, and they now have 400 restaurants in America and over 1,900 worldwide. But here in the LC Valley, the story isn’t so much about a restaurant chain as much as it’s about a community who never stopped wanting one. As we dug through newspaper archives and interviewed some of the most impactful people, a pattern seemed to emerge: A&W always found its way back.
Prior to Happy Day Restaurants bringing in A&W, there were some others who had the same idea. One of the earliest traces was an A&W Root Beer stand along Highway 12, just below Orofino at Riverside. Then, after an absence of A&W in the area, Zip Trip convenience store out of Spokane actually had some pretty big plans. Gas station and convenience store restaurants were really taking off at the time, so they opened a few restaurants around the 1970’s-1990’s, including a Taco Bell in Grangeville and an A&W in Clarkston. The Clarkston location served classics like the momma, papa, teen, and baby burgers! The opening of the Clarkston A&W, which was located on Bridge & 3rd street, came during a period of spirited local discussion about growth and business development in the community, and one thing was very clear: people were excited to have A&W.
By 1974, A&W had more US locations than McDonald’s. A&W changed hands many times over the decades, and like any franchise system, the quality of a location always came down to who was running it. Our community unfortunately learned that the hard way. The Clarkston A&W’s story ultimately became intertwined with broader controversies surrounding the convenience store that housed it. While the restaurant itself remained popular, decisions made by the parent company sparked significant community opposition. The location eventually closed due largely to our community having a firm sense of values and voting with their feet.
Which brings us to Happy Day Restaurants, and why we’re here. We didn’t come to A&W as outsiders looking for a project. We came as operators who had already built something that worked. After the success with Taco Time and Arby’s, the fast-food world had a different focus that Bruce and his team wanted in on: Burgers. When the opportunity to bring A&W to the LC Valley under different ownership presented itself, It didn’t just look like a business opportunity. It was a chance to bring a beloved brand back under local ownership and invest in its future. Happy Day first opened a location in Moscow, ID, in 1999, where it still stands now. Shortly after, a location in the Lewiston Center Mall also appeared in the community.
Before opening the restaurants, Ken King, Happy Day District Manager, and Barb Sumner, who was preparing to become the first manager of the Moscow location, went to A&W University. Believe it or not, yes, it’s a real thing. AWU is a 12-day program in Lexington, Kentucky that trains new franchise owners in classrooms and in stores, giving them a leg up in the corporate aspect. They learn how to operate equipment, meet with other team members and gather skills and tips for leadership. At the same time, Ken was also attending a dessert school when he wasn’t at AWU. This commitment reflects what makes A&W so special to us. It was built on people who believed in the brand enough to invest in it and themselves.
The Lewiston and Moscow locations opened within a year of each other. Records around the Moscow location are limited, but the anticipation for Lewiston’s location was well documented. Barry Kough from the Lewiston Tribune wrote an article in 2000 about the new addition. The A&W traditions came with, including the root beer being made in house daily, and the refrigerated glass mugs. When the restaurant opened on January 26, 2000, the menu featured all the classics; hamburgers, fries, hand dipped ice cream, shakes, and of course, root beer floats. Rhonda Millage, formerly the Clarkston Arby’s manager, became the first manager of this A&W location after training at the one in Moscow.
Unfortunately, even the best intentions and strongest brands don’t guarantee success. After opening in 2000, the Lewiston A&W spent nearly a decade serving the community from what is now the Smashouse location. During those years, the restaurant industry was changing rapidly. A&W Root Beer, once available almost exclusively at A&W restaurants and stands, began appearing in grocery stores and convenience stores across the country, bringing the brand into more homes than ever before. Despite the excitement surrounding its arrival, the Lewiston location ultimately closed in 2008, due largely to the market crash. Its closure marked the end of another chapter in A&W’s local history, but fortunately, the story didn’t end there. Today, the Moscow A&W remains a proud part of the community.
Root beer still comes in frosted glass mugs. You can still order the iconic bacon cheeseburger. And you can definitely still feel the love in every bite. The people still running the active location are your neighbors. The operators are people who love our communities. And maybe that’s why it tastes so good. Nonetheless, we think Roy Allen would approve. He built his entire business on the simple idea of showing up where people gather, offer something cold and delicious, and do it right. In 2000, when asked why he chose A&W, Bruce Finch offered a simple answer: “I just like A&W.” More than 25 years later, we’d say the LC Valley seems to agree.
Happy Day Restaurants proudly owns and operates A&W in Moscow, Idaho. We hope to see you come by and make some memories of your own!
