A & W Root Beer Stand

A & W Root Beer Stand

An early photo of the A & W Root Beer Stand in Brodhead, Wisconsin. The building was built in 1954 by Al Rasmussen. He owned the business and he had several managers in the early years. A fire destroyed the building in August of 1958. It was rebuilt and Dale and Louise Roenneburg took over management in 1966. Mr. Rasmussen passed away in 1968 and the Roenneburgs purchased the business. There were many improvements and expansion over the next 15 years. The Roenneburgs employed 115 high school and college students over that time. The drive-in was sold to LeRoy Behrens in 1980 and sold again in 1981 to Jack and Gloria Melvin. The Melvins ran the business until 1990 when it was sold to Gregg and Jane Godfrey. Th e drive-in was closed on October 3, 1993. The building was located on the corner of 17th Street and West Seventh Avenue. The building was removed and the land is now owned by Kuhn North America. There is a newspaper account of an A & W Root Beer Stand opening in Brodhead in May of 1939, however it was at a different location.

Circa late 1950's - early 1960's

2 X 4 Black and White Print

Unknown

Frieda Olin

#2973 Curator# P99-12-78

A & W Root Beer Stand, Al Rasmussen, Dale Roenneburg, Louise Roenneburg, LeRoy Behrens, Jack Melvin, Gloria Melvin, Gregg Godfrey, Jane Godfrey, Kuhn North America