News

A&W COO now also brand's president

January 3, 2019

A&W Restaurants has added the role of president to COO Paul Martino's duties for the U.S. business, according to an announcement from the brand's CEO Kevin Bazner.

A&W President and  COO Paul Martino  (Photo provided)

Martino has more than 20 years with the Lexington, Kentucky-based QSR. His new duties will include continued U.S. operations, marketing, IT and restaurant support team oversight, as well as now oversight of the brand's U.S. franchise development efforts.

"Since being acquired by our franchisees (from Yum Brands in 2011), A&W has opened more than 60 new U.S. restaurants," Bazner said in the announcement. "We are preparing to enter an era of accelerated growth, and Paul's leadership will be critical to both attracting new franchise partners as well as supporting those currently in the system."

Late last year, A&W restructured its franchise development department, adding veteran franchise sales executive Dave Crowley as director of Franchise Recruitment.

"A&W's future is bright. The brand has name recognition, a positive growth trajectory and a solid leadership team in place. We've all got a long history with A&W, and we're committed to growing this great brand," Martino said in the announcement. "As COO, my focus has been on helping our franchise partners build profitable sales. I'm very excited to now also be working to expand the A&W system."

A&W claims the title of America's first chain restaurant, beginning in Lodi, California, in 1919. Today, there are nearly 1,000 restaurants worldwide, with more than 630 in the U.S. The chain came in as No. 4 on Time Magazine's 2018 list off best U.S. fast food chains.