Yellowknife's A&W owner talks 15 years of onion rings, and why they had to close

On Monday, the owners of the A&W restaurant in downtown Yellowknife announced the establishment is closing its doors for good on Dec. 31.

For decades, the fast food restaurant has been a popular hang-out spot for people young and old.

Todd Stewart is one of the restaurant's co-owners. He spoke to CBC North Trailbreaker host Hilary Bird about what the last 15 years have been like, and why he decided to close down. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

This news came, I think, as a shock to many people. Can you walk us through why you're closing the restaurant? 

It's not a shock … It's been something that's been kind of in the works for a bit. Really, we're just at a crossroads where everything lined up and we just decided that we need to move on to new adventures in our life. We've been doing this for just about 15 years, me and my business partner Randy Caines. We've just decided that it's time for us to move off in a new direction. 

Did you ever think about selling it? 

Absolutely. Yeah, we did. 

And you just didn't make that decision? 

Well, the decision to sell when you're looking into a franchise, and a quick-service restaurant, is not just your own decision. The idea of selling it would have also had to be negotiated with A&W. 

Can you bring us back to when you first took over chain? How did that all happen? 

In 2010, we were just looking for an opportunity, and this one came up and so we looked into it, we decided that this would be a good venture for us to get involved in. So we purchased it in 2010 and that's how it started. 

You're a teacher. Your business partner is also a teacher. What made you want to own a fast food restaurant? 

Oh, looking back at it I don't know. I think we were just looking for opportunities to branch out and do something different than just teaching and so that's when we got involved in it. 

Over the years, A&W has been a pretty important place for a lot of people … You bought it in 2010. Has it always been that way? 

Yes. But downtown Yellowknife has changed during our time that we've owned the restaurant. We've always had great customers. Right until today, on Saturday morning we have a group of gentlemen that come in. The way they start the morning, they have coffee with us and breakfast. It's their meeting place. We've always been happy to be that for the Yellowknife community. We really hope that it continues and that they support another business in Yellowknife. 

You mentioned the changes of Yellowknife's downtown. How much did that factor into your decision to close? 

Well, when we first purchased the business, the mall that we're part of was full. And it was a vibrant downtown and there was a lot of people with the hustle-and-bustle. The mall now is pretty much empty. It wasn't the largest factor, but we have to admit that there was some push from corporate that they wanted a different location. 

So corporate had asked you to look at possibly moving locations? 

Yes. 

And that's not something you wanted to do? 

No. Maybe 15 years ago we would have. But as we approach this point in our venture, it wasn't in the cards for us. 

What are some of your other favourite memories?

All of my favourite memories are around the community and the people and the relationships and friendships that we've built over the years. We've been very thankful to welcome all kinds of people from Yellowknife and outside of Yellowknife into our restaurant and support them. That's the most exciting part. Just the people that you meet and the interactions that you have, it's just been a joy. 

We've had lots of people come in and tell stories about A&W root beer, and teen burgers and onion rings. 

Can you tell us what's going to happen with the people who work there? 

We worked hard with lots of our employees to find new jobs. We've been been able to help them in that way. We're quite proud of the fact that we have sponsored and helped lots of temporary foreign workers find employment in Canada and help them find permanent residency in Canada

We think that everyone that's with us right now will land on their feet and find jobs in Yellowknife. 

What are you going to miss most? 

It's going to be the people, the friendly faces coming in. The hellos, the good mornings. Just so many people coming through the restaurant and just being able to see old friends, make new friends. That's been part of my routine for 15 years, and I'll miss that.