A Family Reunited

Have you seen what’s new at your local Sweet Home A&W Restaurant? Check out their latest addition of the complete Burger Family. Standing proud and greeting patrons from the parking lot, vintage statues of Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger and Baby Burger invite you to enjoy a meal of classic A&W all-American food. Whether you dine-in or use the car-hop, you’ll experience a little piece of yesteryear right here today!

The customer experience is “pretty much the way it was decades ago,” relates franchise owner Josh Hankins, whose store dates back to 1961. Focusing on the nostalgic experience, Sweet Home A&W patrons still order from the table or car-hop using vintage phones with orders going through a switchboard. Fresh food, cooked to order, includes classic burgers made from 100 percent U.S. beef. Papa Burgers slathered with Papa Sauce and Bacon Double Cheeseburgers top the list. 

A&W’s famous root beer float is a sure-fire treat for any self-respecting nostalgic patron. In Sweet Home alone, roughly 25,000 root beer floats are served annually. Made fresh onsite, A&W Root Beer uses real cane sugar and the original proprietary blend of herbs and spices. For the classic experience, it’s best enjoyed in an A&W signature frosty mug! 

During the 60s, A&W was represented by the Burger Family. Papa Burger, Mama Burger, and Baby Burger all debuted in 1960 and Teen Burger was added in 1963. In 1974, the A&W franchise transitioned to Rooty the Great Root Bear™. Josh, however, in keeping with his nostalgic theme and throw-back to a previous era, chased down a complete set of Burger Family statues of his own. Acquiring all four Burger Family members sent him on quite the odyssey!

Sharing some aspects of his adventure, Josh relates, “A few years back I was elected to an A&W franchise board and I met some people that had done similar things at their restaurants, one of which was Pete Knight in Lodi, California. He has the original location there – that’s where A&W started – and he has a full set of statues.” Pete said he would keep an eye out and let Josh know if any statues became available. 

In 2022, a full set was being sold in St. James, Missouri, but Josh lost the bid to another franchisee as he had to cover significant travel expenses. Then, in the spring of 2024, Pete contacted Josh again saying that 3 of the 4 statues were available in Turlock, CA. “That’s doable right there!” Josh thought. So, he and his brother flew to Sacramento, rented a U-Haul, and drove the statues home. “They sat in my barn for a while,” he says – waiting to be refurbished. 

In the meantime, Josh had given up finding the 4th statue and resigned himself to borrowing one from a fellow franchisee in central California to make a copy and create a replica. Three days before he was scheduled to leave, with flight booked and U-Haul arranged, he received a text from a local owner who saw the statue Josh needed for sale on eBay. Josh bought the statue which was in Orange, California, changed his flight and U-Haul arrangements from central to southern California and traveled with his wife, Patty, to retrieve the final Burger Family member to complete his set!

The imposing statues (Papa Burger stands about 9 feet high) were refurbished and repainted. Concrete pedestals were poured, and when ready, the statues were bolted down and displayed in A&W’s parking lot just before the Oregon Jamboree in August. “That was good timing,” Josh comments. “It was a fun project!” 

A&W Restaurant in Sweet Home is located at 1010 Main St. For phone orders call (541)367-4893 or visit awrestaurants.com to place an order online.