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| - LIving downtown, this is my 'local' A&W. Ive always had a soft spot for A&W, its retro feel restaurants and basic but well done fast food, and good coffee.
A&W can sometimes be a miss if the staff are below average. Now and again in other locations you may get an eye roll if you ask for coffee late at night, or a refusal to make any if they have none. Bonus: in rural locations the girl staff are usually local perky adorable farmers daughter types. Urban on a rare occasion you can get a few oddities but never terrible service. Im happy to see A&W still has smarter corporate clean cut standards for its staff appearance over the increasing cultural marxism freakshow that is Starbucks, which now lets its staff wear whatever they like (make up on men anyone?!?) and have whatever hair colour and metal/tattoos they feel like going. SMH.
This one is brand new and replaced the Mexican restaurant and something else that was there next to it. I believe they knocked 2 units together. Agreed with some other reviewers, it's new so of course still very clean. We will see how long that lasts as alas the double edged sword of being downtown means also the poor staff have to cope with all the scrotes, tramps, druggies, drunks and weirdos frequenting the place.
Overall A&W has been my 'go to' fast food joint for years. Alas some of the old 50's retro charm as been deleted on many new ones and refits in a baffling obsession of change for change sake and this one feels more like an IKEA showroom than a cosier older model style of A&W. It's a little bright lighting wise here also. Nothing 'wrong' per se, just not as warm and homey feeling as the retro style they used to have. However, still better than the McDonalds 'Retards Fun House' refit style. Gone is the 40s, 50s, 60s rockabilly, Sinatra etc music and in with the same old top 40. Sigh. A&W doesn't do nostalgia anymore, but...the food is still competent. A sign of the times being downtown, they have to lock the toilets, which I find a teeth grinding irritation but understand why they have to do it. They must have patience of Saints to deal with all the freaks that come on off downtown wanting to use their loo as a personal washing facility.
Coffee still the best basic 'cuppa Joe' around, even if they did change it a few years ago from the perfectly fine decades old rocket fuel Allen&Wright blend, to a far more expensive organic blend. Completely unneeded but hey what can ya do. A large coffee is now over that psychological $2 barrier when one used to be able to get a large to go for about a buck 70. I also wish they would put the creamers in a chilled container or thermal jug at the condiment area instead of me constantly having to ask. Their prices appear to be quite higher at this location, I almost took a step back when I was asked $6.30 for ONE spicy chicken burger.
Still, free refills, so that's nice.(take that Phil & Sebastian) I can walk there with my New York Post and read my paper in relative peace and quiet from the 17th ave chaos outside, and leave just before the weekender party 'Great Unwash'd' stagger in. Haven't tried their real bacon and eggs brekkie at this location yet, but should be consistent, as franchise fast food is tough to screw up.
Oh and franchise manager? PLEASE please do NOT add a TV, (get rid of the current ones) and bring back the nostalgia music.
Good job so far Mr Franchise manager Sir.
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