Locals wax nostalgic remembering Lodi A&W

A&W Root Beer is about to turn 100 years old. What’s your favorite memory or menu item at the Lodi restaurant?

• Stan Flickinger: In the ‘60s it was Definately the ROOT BEER MISSILES. If I remember right they were fifty cents.

• Donna Ehrhardt Mann: My grandmother working for A&W as their bottle washer and vat stirrer when the restaurant first opened in the 1950s. She and my grandfather lived next door. In fact, as my cousin tells me, the lot that the restaurant is on was where grampa grew tomatoes. It was just natural for all the grandkids to walk into our grandparents house and open the fridge and have fresh A&W Root Beer waiting for us. If not, she’d open the back gate and go next door to get us more. She was well loved by the staff. I remember the owners name was Johnny. She worked for him until he sold the franchise to the next owner . ...

• Paul Gage: Early ‘60s Mad Dog. Root beer dill pickle juice and orange. With a slice of dill pickle.

• Teresa Gribaudo Flynn: As a young girl in the ‘70s, we would have dinner there (Lodi) as a family. I remember the large fireplace in the center of the room (often lit) and loved the various sizes of glass root beer mugs, especially the “baby bear”!

• Kathleen Gallup: Mrs. Cooper, my kindergarten teacher at Live Oak, took us there for lunch. She took 3 kids at a time to lunch there until everyone had a chance to go. How times have changed. She loaded us up and took us to town. It was such a wonderful moment to share with my friends. She was a sweet teacher.

• Tami Williams: Going to the drive-in with my mom and dad and us three kids in the back seat. Loved watching the ladies on roller skates taking our order and then bringing our food out on a tray hooking it to my dad’s car window. We ordered papa, mama and baby burgers and root beer of course!! The mugs were ice cold — no ice needed — just yummy root beer!!!

• Derrick M Spagnola Sr.: I remember the giant root beer by the Lodi Arch. They need to do that again for their 100th and my favorite thing is the root beer duh. I get a gallon everytime I go.