By Christine Graf
A&W restaurant, a Lake George staple since 1959, will open for the season under new ownership.
Hao Yang, a restaurateur from Albany, purchased the franchise from Wayne Pelak for $605,000 in May. Just one year earlier, Pelak purchased the restaurant from Dave Madden who owned it for 44 years.
America’s first franchised restaurant chain, the first A&W was established in Sacramento in 1923. Today, there are more than 900 A&W restaurants operating throughout the world. Of the 550 that are located in the U.S., just seven are in New York state. New franchises continue to open throughout the U.S., Canada, and Southeast Asia.
A&W’s is known for its root beer, made fresh at each restaurant and served in frosty mugs. They also serve a variety of fast food items including their 1963 invention, the bacon cheeseburger.
“The A&W has been operating very successfully in Lake George for about 50 years. It’s an iconic restaurant. The location is outstanding, and they have a very loyal clientele,” said Mitch Muroff, owner of real estate brokerage firm Muroff Hospitality.
According to Muroff, Pelak was forced to sell due to health concerns.
“The business was extremely busy when he bought it, and it required more time and energy than he had envisioned. He and his family decided that the best thing for him to do would be to retire.”
For Yang, the owner of several Asian restaurants in the Albany and Latham, this is his first business venture in Lake George. He plans to continue to operate the 2208 Route 9 restaurant as an A&W franchise and recently completed the A&W management training course.
Muroff said that Yang plans to make some upgrades to modernize the location.
“He will be making some subtle improvements as well as enhancing some of the technological amenities of the store and tweaking the menu.”
The Lake George A&W has always operated as a seasonal restaurant, and Muroff believes that Yang intends to expand the season. Yang has not yet made a formal announcement regarding the operating schedule, and the restaurant is temporarily closed as it undergoes modernization. According to Yelp, it is scheduled to reopen on June 30.