Flagship location of Lexington burger chain closing. Here’s why.
A popular burger joint is closing, only five years after it opened on Main Street.
A&W’s location at 652 East Main St. is closing at the end of September, a spokesman for the Lexington-based chain confirmed.
The lease is expiring; employees were offered transfers to other A&W locations, according to Brad Ritter, A&W spokesman.
According to the Fayette County PVA web site, the property is owned by Jacobs Sons Realty LLC, care of William Jacobs and Sons Inc., who have been involved in the ownership since at least 1967.
A&W restaurants, known for their burgers and root beer floats, are owned by franchisees, except for the locations in Lexington and in Richmond.
Those locations, at 114 Towne Center Dr., 2251 War Admiral Way and 2003 Lantern Ridge Dr. in Richmond, are remaining open.
The Main Street location, renovated in 2015, was a prototype of the free-standing updated concept that the company has now deployed across the country.
For the last five years, it has been the flagship of the 100-year-old burger chain. But there are no plans to open another Lexington location at this time, Ritter said.
The A&W burger chain has seen strong sales despite the pandemic, with sales up 12 percent in July, the third straight month of growth, due in part to boosted drive-thru sales and delivery.
