Scaling up: Long John Silver's adding an A&W

The root beer already is flowing from the A&W tap in the Cape Girardeau Long John Silver�s, and the restaurant is preparing for its grand re-opening later this month to co-brand the restaurant, franchisee Jim Sill said.

Long John Silver�s will offer A&W menu items besides the on-tap root beer, including hot dogs, fries and breaded chicken tenders, in addition to the regular Long John Silver�s menu, Sill said.

Sill said dual branding doesn�t make sense everywhere, but in Cape Girardeau, it made for a strong plan.

�There�s so much brand equity in A&W,� Sill said, noting the brand was established in 1919 � 100 years ago next year.

�What�s old has become new again,� Sill added.

A mug of A&W Root Beer is filled Tuesday at the Long John Silver's-A&W Root Beer combination restaurant in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

A&W has a strong social-media presence, as well, Sill said, and he called A&W �really a fun brand.�

Sill said when the company he and partner Jim Sprick own and operate, Pinnacle Hospitality Group, acquired the Cape Girardeau Long John Silver�s in 2015, they considered remodeling the store, but return on investment wasn�t as strong for a simple remodel as for bringing in another brand.

�It made more sense,� Sill said.

As to whether this move was planned to stay ahead of Captain D�s, under construction at 205 S. Kingshighway, Sill laughed and said this move has been in the works for a year.

Sill said he�s opened more than 100 restaurants in his career, and Pinnacle Hospitality Group has 22 restaurants in California, Illinois and Missouri.

Jim Sill, owner of Pinnacle Hospitality Group, discusses his newest Long John Silver's-A&W Root Beer combination restaurant Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

For the Cape Girardeau location, he plans to shut down the restaurant for three days ahead of the grand re-opening.

All equipment will be put through stress tests during those three days, he said, and the technology will be tested, too.

Final remodeling also will be completed, he said.

New outdoor signs are on the way, Sill said.

A digital menu board is already in place at the drive-thru, and a wall mural of A&W mascot Rooty the Bear greets customers there.

The grand re-opening celebration should take place before the end of the month, Sill said.

Sill said about 20 new jobs will be added with the new A&W.

General manager Tabatha Flores said work began in earnest about a month and a half ago, and already the new restaurant is taking shape.

Some painting has been done already, Flores said, and pointed to the orange stripe painted along the ceiling in the main dining area. Other painting is ongoing, she said, and new orange-and-brown booths have been installed under the new orange light fixtures.

The side room still will be decorated as Long John Silver�s, Flores added.

The self-serve root-beer tap is already in place, gleaming next to the fountain soda machine.

Flores said learning to make the root beer on site every day was interesting, and she said the new root beer tap is �so neat.�

�We�re excited,� she said. �It�ll be fun.�

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

25 S. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.