{"id":21405,"date":"2026-08-21T17:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T17:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/?p=21405"},"modified":"2026-08-21T17:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T17:05:51","slug":"aw-announces-redesign-after-cracker-barrel-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/aw-announces-redesign-after-cracker-barrel-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"A&W Announces Redesign After Cracker Barrel Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The new \u201cmodern heritage\u201d prototype goes retro, leaning into A&W\u2019s roadside root beer stand roots. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tBy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJon Small\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t|\t\t\t\t<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\tedited by\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDan Bova\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t|\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tAug 21, 2026\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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A&W <\/a>is reaching back to its roots to shape its future. A new \u201cmodern heritage\u201d blends the Americana look of A&W\u2019s original roadside root beer stands and classic diners with contemporary architecture. The restaurants are between 2,200 and 2,800 square feet and seat 40 to 70 guests. The chain will keep its signature orange and brown color scheme and add outdoor seating, according to CoStar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fast-food giant has had to tread carefully. Restaurant chains face a real risk when they redesign long-familiar locations: go too sleek, and customers push back. That\u2019s exactly what happened to Cracker Barrel<\/a>, which had to roll back a logo and interior overhaul after public backlash. Instead, A&W has followed the lead of chains like Pizza Hut<\/a>, which has been restoring retro touches like Tiffany-style lamps and checkered tablecloths across dozens of locations to capitalize on nostalgia.<\/p>\n

A&W has real history to draw on. Founded more than 100 years ago, it\u2019s one of the oldest fast-food chains in the country, with over 850 locations across 35 states and Asia. Its root beer is still made fresh in-house from a 1919 recipe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doubling down on the handcrafted quality, genuine hospitality and meaningful connections with the communities we serve,\u201d said CEO Betsy Schmandt.<\/p>\n

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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new \u201cmodern heritage\u201d prototype goes retro, leaning into A&W\u2019s roadside root beer stand roots. By Jon Small | edited by Dan Bova | Aug 21, 2026 Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. A&W is reaching back to its roots to shape its future. A new \u201cmodern heritage\u201d blends the Americana look of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/AW-GettyImages-1165816727.jpg?resize=1024,683","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21407,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21405\/revisions\/21407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}