After less than two years in business, the A&W off County Hwy. 56 in Inver Grove Heights has closed.
Hungry patrons who visit the restaurant are greeted with a sign on the window left by the owners:
"Sorry for the sad news that A&W had to close the doors. Your patronage has meant everything. You have been more than customers ... friends!"
The message goes on to thank customers for their support during this "trying time."
A phone number listed as belonging to owner Patrick Nickleson was not in service.
The Inver Grove Heights fast-food restaurant opened in the summer of 2009. Nickleson, who had been a corporate chef for a grocery store chain, had opened the restaurant with his wife, Patricia.
When it opened, Nickleson said in a press release, "A&W will rock the socks off Inver Grove consumers." Besides the restaurant on Buchanan Trail, Nickleson owned A&W sites in Little Canada, Pine Island and Coon Rapids. Those locations also have closed.
"We regret that the franchisee of these four locations failed to meet his financial obligations to A&W Restaurants, and after several failed attempts to resolve, we had no choice but to terminate his franchise agreements," said Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Yum! Brands, which owns A&W.
