Construction work is underway at the A&W location in downtown Prince Albert. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)

By Nigel Maxwell

Beloved landmarks

Rising from the ashes: A&W returning to downtown Prince Albert

Nov 28, 2024 | 2:00 PM

One of Prince Albert’s most famous restaurants is getting a second lease on life.

Reg Fontaine, the property and building landlord of the downtown A&W location, confirmed for paNOW plans to re-build and hopes to see it open sometime late summer of next year.

The announcement comes almost 10 months after the old building was destroyed by fire.

“It’s fantastic, you know my position is a little different now that I’m the landlord but I’m super excited about getting this building back up in the downtown core,” Fontaine said. “We’ve always had really good business down there, and I think just judging by the comments after the fire on social media and just the whole process the week after I think it really stirred up a lot of memories for folks. I think people will be really happy to see it back.”

In the early morning hours of January 17, a fire broke out at the former restaurant’s building, spreading quickly from the kitchen to the attic and the roof.

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By the time the sun was out, the fire was mostly contained but the building itself was heavily damaged and frozen over due to the water used to extinguish the fire.

(submitted photo/Prince Albert Historical Society, Album 37.3)

Built in the late 1960’s, the former restaurant represented a place where people had their first job, or simply went to hang with their high school friends. Overlooking the riverbank area, it’s also been a place where local seniors can come and reminisce about the good old days.

With respect to size, the new restaurant will be a bit smaller than its predecessor. There will be about 40 seats compared to the old one being about 120, and will be about 2000 square feet in size, compared to the old one which was about 3600. When asked about the change, Fontaine noted the current popularity of drive-thrus.

“It’s the majority of the sales there so it makes sense to prioritize the drive-thru and the seating itself was probably too much seating for a normal restaurant of today,” he said.

RNF Ventures is handling the construction. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

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