{"id":476439,"date":"2026-09-26T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476439\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T12:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:50:13","slug":"the-iconic-california-based-restaurant-that-has-more-stores-in-wisconsin-than-anywhere-else","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476439\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iconic California-Based Restaurant That Has More Stores In Wisconsin Than Anywhere Else"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to U.S. geography and food, some pairings are classic: New York\u00a0and bagels, Philadelphia and cheesesteak sandwiches, Chicago and deep-dish pizza. And then there are burgers and California, which is considered the unofficial birthplace of fast food<\/a>\u00a0due\u00a0to the fact that McDonald’s, In ‘n Out, Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box, and a handful of other burger joints were founded in the state.<\/p>\n

So it may be a surprise to learn that A&W, the iconic root beer and burger outpost founded in Lodi, California, as a roadside stand in 1919, doesn’t have as many restaurants in California as it does in another state: Wisconsin. That’s right, America’s Dairyland boasts more A&Ws than any other state in the country. As of the time of writing, there were 51 A&W restaurants in Wisconsin, compared to 33 in the brand’s home state of California. Clearly, the land of cheese curds is also A&W central, with customers clamoring for its Coney Dogs, Papa Burgers, and of course, those Root Beer Floats.<\/p>\n

Read more: 15 Iconic Regional Snack Foods The Rest Of The US Is Missing Out On<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Why A&W restaurants thrive in the Badger State\"the<\/p>\n

Habanero Pixel\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

A&W may have won fans’ hearts as the\u00a0fast food chain that has always gone the extra mile with its iconic frosted mugs<\/a>, but what’s the connection with the Badger State? For starters, the company has long had a historical presence in Wisconsin. In 1949, the first national meeting for A&W franchise owners was held in La Crosse.<\/p>\n

A few regionalized PR stunts have also helped endeared Wisconsin-based customers to the brand. For example, in 2009 and 2010, Papa Burgers in the state were sold for $0.85 if Green Bay Packers player Greg Jennings scored a touchdown in a game. Other\u00a0Packers had burgers named for them in subsequent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There’s even a menu addition from 2003 that pays homage to the state: the 100% Real Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Curds. Some argue these are the best fast food cheese curds out there, even when compared to local chain Culver’s. (If these little cheddar nuggets aren’t on your radar, here’s an overview of what cheese curds are and why you should care<\/a>.) As A&W has introduced more franchises to the state in recent years, it appears that even more Wisconsinites will get to enjoy this storied California chain \u2014 right on their doorstep.<\/p>\n

Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter<\/a> where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source<\/a> or follow us<\/a> on Google.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Tasting Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to U.S. geography and food, some pairings are classic: New York\u00a0and bagels, Philadelphia and cheesesteak…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[187184,7,9,8,187182,187183,11101],"class_list":["post-476439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-aw-restaurants","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-cheese-curds","tag-papa-burgers","tag-wisconsin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}