Root beer floats and fried clams are traditional summer staples available year-round at the A&W in Lake George. Those foods join more modern favorites like chicken bites with Thai dipping sauce and fried cheese curds.
Loyal customers were forced to take a 10-month hiatus while the decades-old restaurant building at 2208 Route 9 was renovated following an equipment fire that damaged the structure a year ago.
Fortunately, the fire was confined. Plumbing was not damaged. The structure and footprint were not affected. But all the glass and kitchen equipment had to be replaced.
Owner Dave Madden did the repairs himself, with help from friends and co-workers, some of whom are back on the job at a place that has employed them for upward of 20 years.
“We have had staff here for 15 years and more,” he said. “The cook has probably been here for 20 years.”
“Everything is the same as before,” said Madden, who has run the franchise since 1978 and is its third owner. “The new equipment is the same type and brand as the former equipment.”
Only some paint colors have changed. A&W corporate now requires an orange, brown and white paint scheme, mirroring the coloring of A&W’s logo and its mascot, Rooty Jr., a root beer-slugging brown bear, and replacing the red checkerboard design in effect for the last 20 years.
Madden credits his restaurant’s success to “good food, good service.” He said it has been “full every day” since reopening. Patrons have given the Route 9 restaurant high marks on various social media.
There is a menu of burgers, hot dogs, seafood and chicken dishes. As with all A&W franchisees, Madden has a core menu to follow and a list of restrictions, but he does have some independence in his offerings. He provides a choice of 19 kids meals, from a hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich to a shrimp dinner. Plus, there are about 70 flavors of soft serve for all.
A&W claims to have the first ever franchise and drive-in restaurant dating back to 1921 and has made its iconic root beer since 1919. There are 10 restaurants in upstate New York, the closest in Hudson.
A full menu ais available on the Lake George A&W Facebook page.