Photo by Will Cornelius – The Hamann family has owned the A&W Restaurant located at 802 Mountain Avenue in Berthoud since 1971.

Root beer float entrepreneurs wanted! The iconic A&W restaurant at 802 Mountain Avenue is looking for new owners. Since 1971 the Hamann family has owned and operated the ‘All-American Food’ establishment in Berthoud. “We got people that come in from all over because they’ve been here — Carter Lake traffic in the summertime,” said Randy Hamann. Since 1995, Hamann and his wife have run the classic drive-in staple while raising their family.
“Well, I’m 65 years old. I’m tired of working every day. My wife, she’s probably even more tired,” said Hamann about why it’s time to sell the family business. With no younger family members interested in carrying on the torch — or chilled root beer mug in this case — they have put the business and building up for sale.
When Hamann’s parents took over the place, they became the third owners of the restaurant and started cooking food to order. “I was the night manager here when I was in college, so I was here for five years then. Ran it at night,” recalled Hamann who grew up learning every facet of managing a restaurant.
Originally founded in 1919 in California, A&W Restaurant pioneered the modern quick-service restaurant and franchise business model. The famous chain, along with its passionate fans, has remained largely unchanged over the past century. “We haven’t changed much. We’re still doing things pretty much the same way we always have,” said Hamann about day-to-day operations.
Berthoud’s A&W has not only kept the famed drive-in ordering system but has enhanced it by installing state-of-the-art screens to help customers order. “It does extremely well right now and I don’t see that changing with the location we’re in,” said Hamann.
During the Covid pandemic, the restaurant was deemed essential and was allowed to stay open and keep operating. “They closed our dining room, but we still had the to-go and the drive-ins going. Everything else was shut down, so we got busier,” he said.
There used to be “30 or 40” A&W’s along the front range when Hamann was young. Today, Berthoud and Eaton have the only remaining standalone A&W restaurants in northern Colorado. Fort Collins, Longmont, Greeley and Windsor have A&W’s too, but they’re attached to former corporate partner Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Attempts to change and corporatize A&W nearly destroyed the chain in the past Hamann said. “They wanted to run it like it was a Taco Bell. Well, we’re not Taco Bell,” he said. While other restaurant chains grew and thrived under a one-size fits all model, A&W was different. Many A&W’s across the country are unique and have remained largely unchanged from their original design. This contrasts with chains like McDonald’s that impose strict requirements on layout and store design.
After a tumultuous period under the corporate overlordship of Yum! Brands, A&W became independent when a consortium of franchisees bought the brand. “I mean, they’ve done a tremendous job. We’re actually starting to grow stores again,” said Hamann about the new corporate model. “We’ve focused on quality. That’s probably what’s made us successful. Let’s go back to the quality,” he added.
According to Hamann, there are two secrets to running a successful restaurant. Put the customer first — and put the food quality first as well. Years of adhering to this have also seen the flourishing town grow more loyal to the restaurant. “We’re fortunate, we’re a small town. That’s probably why we’re one of the few that’s still around. Too stubborn to quit. We’ve always gotten tremendous support,” said Hamann.
Hamann said there have been “a couple of inquiries, but nothing serious yet,” regarding a potential sale of the business. With a brother-in-law involved in commercial real estate, the family listed the business and the property for sale last year. Regarding an asking price, Hamann said “it’s north of two million if they wanted the property and everything.”
“They’re hard, they’re hard businesses to sell … People that want to run them don’t have the money, people that have the money don’t want to run [them],” Hamann explained. He said he always expected that it would be a drawn-out process. On top of finding a buyer Hamann is happy with, A&W also needs to sign off on transferring the franchise license to any new potential owner.
“They’re gonna have to have a little bit of a passion for the business. Most successful restaurants do,” said Hamann about any potential new owner. “You just got to be willing to work and take care of your customers,” he added.
Seeing Berthoud and the business grow while being part of the community has been a joy for Hamann. “The growth of the business has been pretty gratifying,” he said. “We’ve had two and three-generation families working for us.”
While no new owners have materialized yet, Berthoud’s A&W continues to prosper with its old-school diner approach. The restaurant has avoided acquiescing to food delivery apps and other revenue streams. Not because they don’t want to, but because existing business keeps them at capacity almost year-round. “I mean, we could do DoorDash or one of those, but quite frankly, we don’t need it most of the time,” said Hamann.