Safrole, the aromatic oil found in sassafras roots and bark that gave traditional root beer its distinctive flavor, was banned in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by the FDA in 1960. [1] Laboratory animals that were given oral doses of sassafras tea or sassafras oil that contained large doses of safrole developed permanent liver damage or various types of cancer. [1] While sassafras is no longer used in commercially produced root beer and is sometimes replaced with artificial flavors, natural extracts with the safrole distilled and removed are available. [11] [12] Traditional method Root beer was originally made with sassafras root and bark which, due to its mucilaginous properties, formed a natural, long lasting foam, a characteristic feature of the beverage. Root beer was originally carbonated by fermentation. As demand and technology changed, carbonated water was used. Some manufacturers used small amounts of starch (e.g. from cassava) with natural surfactants to reproduce the familiar foaming character of sassafras-based root beer. Some brands of root beer have distinctive foaming behaviors, which has been used as part of their marketing identity. [14] Ingredients More than 72 years after the first Hot Shoppe opened, the last one, in Marlow Heights, Maryland, closes in 1999. The company founders’ sons, Bill Marriott, Jr. and Richard Marriott, participate in closing activities. In 1937, after visiting his Hot Shoppe near the airport, J.W. Marriott thinks of expanding his business by delivering food to airlines at Hoover Airport, south of Washington, D.C. The in-flight airline catering division was part of the company until 1989. In 1995, Marriott adds an iconic luxury brand to its portfolio, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, purchasing 49% interest. In 1998, Marriott acquires another 49% of The Ritz-Carlton for almost full ownership.

There is no definitive answer to the question of whether or not Coke owns A&W root beer, as the answer is somewhat ambiguous. A&W root beer is a brand that is owned by A&W Brands, Inc., which is a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. However, A&W Brands, Inc. is a separate company from The Coca-Cola Company, and the two companies have separate ownership structures. Therefore, it could be said that The Coca-Cola Company does not own A&W root beer, but rather A&W Brands, Inc. does. However, The Coca-Cola Company does have a significant stake in A&W Brands, Inc., and it is reasonable to say that Coke does have some ownership of A&W root beer. Who is A&W owned by?

A&W stands for “Allen and Wright”, the two men who first created the drink in 1919. They opened up a small root beer stand in Lodi, California, and the rest is history. Not all traditional or commercial root beers were sassafras-based. One of Hires's early competitors was Barq's, which began selling its sarsaparilla-based root beer in 1898 and was labeled simply as "Barq's". [10] Higgins, Nadia (August 1, 2013). Fun Food Inventions (Awesome Inventions You Use Every Day). 21st Century. p.30. ISBN 978-1467710916. Newlyweds J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, along with business partner Hugh Colton, open the first A&W root beer franchise in Washington, D.C. 1957 The Twin Bridges Motor Hotel opens in January 1957. With an adjacent Hot Shoppe, the 370-room property establishes Marriott in the hotel business.

Since safrole, a key component of sassafras, was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 due to its carcinogenicity, most commercial root beers have been flavored using artificial sassafras flavoring, [1] [2] but a few (e.g. Hansen's) use a safrole-free sassafras extract. [3] Ehler, James (2022). "Root beer: why does it foam so much?". FoodReference.com . Retrieved 21 April 2022. a b c Dietz, B; Bolton, Jl (April 2007). "Botanical dietary supplements gone bad". Chemical Research in Toxicology. 20 (4): 586–90. doi: 10.1021/tx7000527. ISSN 0893-228X. PMC 2504026. PMID 17362034.

A&W root beer is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. However, it is a separate entity from Coca-Cola and is not produced by the company. A&W root beer is produced by the North American Breweries, which is a subsidiary of the company. PepsiCo does not own A&W root beer. Does Coke own A&W root beer? Fankhauser, David B. "MAKING ROOT BEER AT HOME". biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19. The first JW Marriott Hotel opens in Washington, D.C., in 1984. Bill Marriott, Jr. names it in honor of his father, the company founder, who sees the completed project the year before his passing. Most major brands other than Barq's are caffeine-free (Barq's contains about 1.8 mg of caffeine per fluid ounce). [19]

A&W root beer is a popular carbonated drink that is often consumed in the United States. It is made with a variety of flavors, including vanilla, sassafras, and wintergreen. There is some debate over whether or not A&W root beer is a Coke or Pepsi product. A&W does make their own root beer. They have a recipe that has been passed down for many years. The root beer is made with natural ingredients and it is a high quality product. Bennett, Eileen (June 28, 1998). "Local Historians Argue Over the Root of Hires". The Press of Atlantic City . Retrieved April 5, 2015. Boudreaux, Edmond (February 5, 2013). Legends and Lore of the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast. The History Press. p.145. ASIN B00BBXFJOC. Funderburg, Anne Cooper (2002). Sundae Best: A History of Soda Fountains. Popular Press. pp.93–95. ISBN 978-0879728540– via Google Books.In 1886, Hires began to bottle a beverage made from his famous extract. By 1893, root beer was distributed widely across the United States. Non-alcoholic versions of root beer became commercially successful, especially during Prohibition. [8] [9] During World War II, Hot Shoppes, Inc. begins managing cafeterias in the Washington, D.C., area at various government buildings such as defense plants and McClean Gardens, a government housing center for service people. Cafeteria management expands to other institutions in the late 1940s through the 1950s at corporations, colleges, and hospitals. In 1966, Marriott expands internationally as the airline catering division, In-Flite, acquires a flight kitchen in Caracas, Venezuela, serving various airlines that use the Maiquetia Airport.

Pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires was the first to successfully market a commercial brand of root beer. Hires developed his root tea made from sassafras in 1875, debuted a commercial version of root beer at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, and began selling his extract. Hires was a teetotaler who wanted to call the beverage "root tea". However, his desire to market the product to Pennsylvania coal miners caused him to call his product "root beer", instead. [6] [7]a b Smith, Andrew (November 30, 2012). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. pp.1, 188. ISBN 978-0199734962. Beyond its aromatic qualities, the medicinal benefits of sassafras were well known to both Native Americans and Europeans, and druggists began marketing root beer for its medicinal qualities. [5] A Hires' root beer advertisement from 1894 Newlyweds J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, along with business partner Hugh Colton, open the first A&W root beer franchise in Washington, D.C. 1979 In 1979, the Marriott Corporation moves into its new headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. There is a celebration with Marriott family and associates. Root beer has been drunk in the United States since at least the eighteenth century. It has been sold in confectionery stores since at least the 1840s, and written recipes for root beer have been documented since the 1860s. In the nineteenth century, it was often consumed hot. It was combined with soda as early as the 1850s; at that time it was sold as a syrup rather than a ready-made beverage. [4] A&W is a Canadian fast food chain that is owned by the fast food giant, Yum! Brands. A&W was founded in 1919 by brothers, Roy and Walt Anderson. The first A&W restaurant was in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Yum! Brands acquired A&W in 1997. There are now over 1,000 A&W restaurants in Canada. Does A&W make their own root beer?