Bruised a Bit, Iconic Farmington Restaurant Will Be Back

The A&W Restaurant at 30732 Grand Ave. in Farmington was damaged when an elderly woman lost control of her vehicle. (Photo via Facebook)

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Don’t expect to get a signature frosty mug of root beer at the iconic A&W restaurant in Farmington any time soon.

The place is quite literally a wreck.

Farmington police said a 77-year-old Detroit woman lost control of her 2001 Toyota Camry and crashed it into the north side of the restaurant building, located at 30732 Grand River Drive around 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 18.

Damage to the building could top $100,000, Priscilla Krozek, daughter of owners Tom and Sandy Khalil, told Hometownlife.com, and it will likely be spring before the restaurant reopens.

The motorist, who was cited for careless driving, reportedly struck the building when she pulled into a parking spot. She shifted into drive, smashing into the building again, according to the report.

The woman complained of head and neck pain and was taken by ambulance to Beaumont-Farmington Hills. Her condition is unknown. Sandy Khalil got roughed up a bit, too. She fell when she rushed outside after the crash to see what had happened.

“Thank God nobody else was hurt,” Krozek told the newspaper. “The situation could have been a lot worse. Thank God it wasn’t.”

Her parents have owned the business for about 20 years and consider it “their baby,” Kozek said.

Founded in 1919, the restaurant began franchising in 1921 — perhaps the first restaurant company in the world to do so. There were once as many as 2,400 of the restaurant, many with carhops, but their popularity faded over the years and the number of dwindled to only 360 now in the United States.

The financial website 24/7 Wall Street predicted the tiny fast-food chain would completely disappear in 2012, but the restaurants that stir nostalgic memories among Baby Boomers who remember carhops delivering root beer floats and Papa Burgers, Mama Burgers, Teen Burgers and Baby Burgers have endured.

And the Khalils’ restaurant will, too, their daughter promised.

“It’s just a matter of time,” she told Hometownlife. “We look forward to seeing everybody next season.”