More Canadians, especially Montréalers, are living and working in Canada's fast-growing downtown urban centers. This new format brings new urban-focused menu items to a new group of customers.
"We are excited to present this new A&W restaurant concept for our urban customers here in Montréal," said Paul Hollands. A&W president and CEO. "This is a major innovation for A&W, and with the strength and the vibrancy of Montreal as a major urban center we are delighted to open the first of our new prototypes here.”
In addition to its burger line, A&W's urban restaurants will offer a selection of salads and several new chicken sandwiches as well as free wi-fi; self-serve ordering kiosks and a significant waste-reduction initiative.
A&W is the first quick-service restaurant chain in Canada utilizing self-order kiosks, which were initially introduced on a trial basis at Vancouver's airport in 2010. Located at the front of each restaurant, the kiosks allow customers to use their debit or credit cards to place their orders and bypass the ordering line up. These have proven to be a big hit, the company claims.
The new restaurants will feature environmentally conscious packaging, such as reusable French fry baskets, reusable frosted mugs, china plates and stainless-steel cutlery instead of paper or plastic – and energy conservation measures. The amount of disposable packaging has also been dramatically reduced. The average urban restaurant will reduce its consumer paper waste by more than 6,000-7,000 lbs. per year. Advanced exhaust equipment will reduce power and gas usage by 30 percent and new Energy Star fryers will provide an additional 45 percent reduction.
