The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon will welcome one of Canada's most beloved families Ñ the Burger Family Ñ provided a suitable franchisee steps forward to own a new A&W Restaurant. As recently advertised in The Reminder, the fast food chain is looking to re-enter the Flin Flon market and build a new restaurant at the Flintoba Shopping Centre. "We always thought Flin Flon was a good hamburger town," said Graham Cooke, vice-president of development for the chain, from his North Vancouver office. "Although economically it has some ups and downs from time to time, we've always kept an eye on the market." Two local residents have applied to own the new A&W location. The applicants are now being processed and Cooke expects to know in about a month whether either of them will be accepted. "We'd love to have a local person, if we can, operate the business," he said. Should either of the applicants be approved, Cooke said the hope would be for the new restaurant to open in the late summer of this year. Construction on a new restaurant typically takes 10-12 weeks, he said. Plans for the restaurant have already been drawn up. The 1,760 sq. ft. facility would include room for 54 seats and a drive-thru. See 'Retail' P.# Con't from P.# The previous A&W in Flin Flon, located on Highway 10A not far from where the Flintoba Shopping Centre now stands, closed in 1999 and became a Chicken Chef Family Restaurant. Cooke said A&W has looked for new site opportunities in the community since the closure but found no preferable locations. When an opportunity arose at the Flintoba Shopping Centre, now home to three 'big box' stores, the company jumped at the chance. "We believe the site is fine . . . and we'll be able to have a viable business," said Cooke. "We think the location has some terrific draws, which will absolutely be attracting lots of retail traffic, and we would just love to be part of that kind of centre." One of Canada's most popular restaurant chains, A&W is constantly in expansion mode. In 2004, 36 new restaurants are slated to open, which will bring the total number of coast-to-coast locations to 669. A&W is famous for its signature products of root beer and the Burger Family burgers, including the Momma Burger, the Poppa Burger and the Baby Burger. Canada's first A&W restaurant opened on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg in 1956. The restaurant chain is named after founders Roy Allen and Frank Wright.
