I’m 40 and I’ve rarely seen A&W outside of limited mall food court versions, a couple co-branded (a la KFC/LJS, Pizza Hut/Taco Bell YUM brands fast food stops) stores, and the rare Interstate exit location on a long road trip. I think ate there once when I was starving and there was nothing else around. I can’t recall anything about the food. I’ve probably eaten at Roy Rogers more in the past 20 years and they are very rare.
There hasn’t been an A&W within a hundred miles of us in quite a while. (Their store locater says it’s only a 1:41 drive. Nice.) The one that had been nearish to us was one of those gawdawful KFC combo things. Barely had a menu at all.
Yes, I definitely do remember a bear family. Either the napkins or the burger paper wrappers had cartoon bear heads on them. I was 7 or 8 and remember a heated discussion with my older sister as to whether I was big enough to order a Mama Bear or whether I was still a baby and had to stay with the Baby bear.
The dates I saw them were 1966 - 1968. Before and after those dates we lived too far away to visit Texas. The wikipedia link says that the bear mascot was introduced in the 70s?
Here’s a site that says "the venerable “Papa Bear” triple cheeseburger . . . . I would’ve gotten the “Papa Bear,” but it’s not listed on the menu, and no one mentioned that it was still being served until after I’d eaten. (A&W used to have the Papa, Mama and Baby Bear burgers, in descending order of size.) "
Missed the edit window to clarify that I know it was 1966 - 1968 in Texas because I wasn’t living in the US at the time and the trips to TX were a big treat. After those trips I didn’t return to the US until the 80s.
I’d really like to know who thought “Teen sauce” was a good name for a condiment.
ISTR a Midwestern A&W competitor which also had a cartoony bear mascot. Like a polar bear in a blue sweater and maybe a blue stocking cap.
Did it look like this?
No, more like the ICEE bear but wearing all blue and definitely a root beer mascot.
I want to say Frostie but I can’t find any evidence that they used any mascot other than the ice skater guy.
The “Golden Bear” restaurant song:
Yes, I remember sitting in the car as a wee Piper and the girls (always girls) rollerskating our order to the car and putting the tray on the window.
Meant we were in the Big City!
Interesting. 
At least once and more often twice a month I’ll maow down a Mozza Burger and (high quality!) fries at my local A+W, which recently completed a fancy-ass reno. Miss the drive-in style with the roller-skate waitresses. There’s four locations left here - another one at a local food court always has the largest lineups, and usually a five or six customer wait at the local one, so I figure with their re-vamped healthier menu they’re, well, at least thriving.
Ah, also miss the good ole Canadian A+W Root Bear. Catchy number to whistle.
The Mama Bear was the Garden Salad and Baby Bear had Chicken Snacks. Also, each had their own breakfast item.
Not exactly as the OP (and that seems to have been a different restaurant entirely) but I thought close enough to possibly match 40+ year old memories of a restaurant menu.
LOL, you and I must be the last people on earth who remember Arctic Circle outside of Idaho and Utah residents. My mother used the local library as her child minder when I was a kid, and many’s the night when she worked late and dinner was from the Arctic Circle just down the street.
I haven’t been to one since I was a pre-teen, but I blame them for a lifelong addiction to fry sauce.
I remember one such A&W in Toronto, with the tray on the window and roller-skating carhops. It was a treat to go there when I was a child.
Some years ago, I was flying out of Toronto Pearson. An A&W had just opened in the domestic departures, and to celebrate the opening, every customer would get a small stuffed Root Bear. Well, I needed lunch anyway, so with time to kill before my flight, I got a meal, and a Root Bear. He’s not very big–he could fit inside a pop can–but he’s a genuine Root Bear. I still have him.
There’s still one “old timey” carhop drive-in in Atlanta: The Varsity. Here’s an article from last year when they celebrated their 90th year. Note the bit on the 87 year old carhop guy. Been working there 70 years. So not all guys even back in the 50-60s.
One word of advice: this is a place for grease lovers only. If you like your arteries, you’ll hate this food. It is really quite disgusting if you have any sort of developed palate.
(The Varsity has more locations than the original now. Those don’t seem to “count”.)
I remember the Golden Bear restaurant in the relatively small city of Kokomo, Indiana, where I grew up. I had no idea that it was a chain; I always thought it was unique to Kokomo.
I loved that place as a kid; we used to go there for breakfast every Sunday after church. I remember almost getting into a fist fight with some guy at school who said that their food sucked. :mad:
Yes, A&W. I used to go to the place that was half A&W / half KFC, in Shoreline, WA where I was raising my son. He’d just drink the root bear…it’s still awesome…and I usually had a cheeseburger.
Not quite to my taste. They were dry and a bit blackened, and the mustard made them bitter. I usually felt a bit bad afterwards so we only went there once in a while. (This was between 2010 and 2015.)
I do remember also going to the A&W in southern Wisconsin in the 70’s, where they definitely had Papa, Mama and baby burgers, which my big brother always had. I just drank the root beer 
I grew up in Mt. Pleasant IA in the late 60’s and going to A&W was a big treat. I see there is still one there, but apparently part of a BP station now. Is that common?