🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 101 (from laksa085)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa101.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php","crawl_time":1775677166,"first_indexed_time":1773246552,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,sfgate!www,\/food\/article\/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php s443","src_root_hash":"9965634055219334301","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"A&W is closing this nearly 60-year-old Bay Area restaurant","meta_descriptions":["St. Helena's drive-thru A&W is closing its doors on March 31. The Napa Valley burger and root beer float restaurant dates back to 1966."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"The A&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.\nGoogle Street View\nJust shy of its 60th anniversary,\nSt. Helena’s\ndrive-thru\nA&W\nis closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the\nSan Francisco Chronicle.\n(The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE.\nMarried couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now. \nArticle continues below this ad\n“We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.”\nTwo root beer floats served at the A&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\nIt’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a \nrecent decline in school enrollment\nin the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi.\n“I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’” \nArticle continues below this ad\nThe St. Helena Star reported last August that\nA&W had been listed for sale\nby real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also\none of the only chains\nin town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses.\nIsaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant. \nThe A&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\nThe future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the\nSt. Helena Star reported\nthat the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location.\nArticle continues below this ad\nIrvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said. \nFor Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19.\n“I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.”\nArticle continues below this ad\nThe A&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley\nFacebook group\nsharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A&W.\n“How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A&W in town,” one commenter wrote. \nMarch 11, 2026\nSenior Food Reporter\nMadeline Wells is a senior food reporter at SFGATE, where she has covered the Bay Area restaurant scene since 2019. Her column\n\"Eat Like a Tourist\"\nwon a San Francisco Press Club award in 2023. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley and previously worked at Oakland alt-weekly East Bay Express. You can email her at madeline.wells@sfgate.com.","attrs_markdown":"SF Gate Logo\n\nHearst Newspapers Logo\n\n[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php#content)\n\n[CA MINI CROSSWORD](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/california-mini-crossword-puzzle-puzzmo\/?utm_source=masthead&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=campaignname&utm_term=camini)\n\n[Home](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/)\n\n- [Classifieds](http:\/\/sfc.ipublishmarketplace.com\/sf-marketplace\/)\n- [Standards & Practices](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/standards\/)\n- [Advertise With Us](https:\/\/marketing.sfgate.com\/advertise-with-us-today?utm_source=sfgate)\n- [Privacy Notice](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/privacy\/)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/terms\/)\n- [Ad Choices](http:\/\/www.aboutads.info\/choices\/)\n- [Your Privacy Choices](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/yourdata\/)\n\n[About 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2026\n\n![The A\\&amp;W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.]()\n\nThe A\\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.\n\nGoogle Street View\n\nJust shy of its 60th anniversary, [St. Helena’s](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/french-laundry-alum-fried-chicken-bay-area-20277298.php) drive-thru [A\\&W](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/calif-oldest-fast-food-chain-a-and-w-lodi-19661407.php) is closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the [San Francisco Chronicle.](https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/food\/restaurants\/article\/a-and-w-st-helena-closing-22003655.php) (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE.\n\n![](https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl)\n\nMarried couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A\\&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A\\&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\n“We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.”\n\n![Two root beer floats served at the A\\&amp;W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]()\n\nTwo root beer floats served at the A\\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\n\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\n\nIt’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A\\&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a [recent decline in school enrollment](https:\/\/winecountrytimes.com\/enrollment-at-saint-helena-unified-school-district-decreased-by-2-6-compared-to-previous-school-year\/) in the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A\\&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi.\n\n“I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A\\&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’”\n\nAdvertisement\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nThe St. Helena Star reported last August that [A\\&W had been listed for sale](https:\/\/napavalleyregister.com\/star\/news\/st-helena-restaurant-fast-food-business\/article_dae24a9e-2ebb-44e2-b867-5dd08eb43219.html) by real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also [one of the only chains](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/bay-area-gotts-roadside-turns-25-18672602.php) in town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses.\n\nIsaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant.\n\n![The A\\&amp;W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]()\n\nThe A\\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\n\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\n\nThe future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the [St. Helena Star reported](https:\/\/napavalleyregister.com\/star\/news\/st-helena-redevelopment-clif-family-azteca\/article_6a3ef478-94f1-41a2-b3b5-2da42472895f.html) that the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nIrvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said.\n\nFor Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A\\&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19.\n\n“I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.”\n\nAdvertisement\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nThe A\\&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley [Facebook group](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248116986228540\/search\/?q=azteca) sharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A\\&W.\n\n“How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A\\&W in town,” one commenter wrote.\n\nMore Food News\n\n— [Global Chinese restaurant to open second Bay Area location at Valley Fair mall](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/chinese-restaurant-valley-fair-22194394.php)  \n— [SF brewery shutters less than 2 years after raising over \\$160K](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/sf-black-hammer-brewing-closure-22194380.php)  \n— ['Losing a family member': Revered Outer Richmond diner to close after 30 years](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/outer-richmond-diner-closing-22188312.php)  \n— [Trailblazing Bay Area vegan restaurant to close after 31 years as diet trends shift](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/oakland-vegan-restaurant-millennium-22192430.php?mrfhud=true)\n\n*For all things fascinating in Bay Area food, sign up for our [Eat the Bay newsletter here](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/newsletters\/eat-the-bay\/).*\n\nMarch 11, 2026\n\n![Photo of Madeline Wells]()\n\n[Madeline Wells](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/author\/madeline-wells\/)\n\nSenior Food Reporter\n\nMadeline Wells is a senior food reporter at SFGATE, where she has covered the Bay Area restaurant scene since 2019. Her column [\"Eat Like a Tourist\"](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/nicks-restaurant-pacifica-review-19654972.php) won a San Francisco Press Club award in 2023. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley and previously worked at Oakland alt-weekly East Bay Express. You can email her at madeline.wells@sfgate.com.\n\n[CA Mini Crossword 717 people are playing right now. 2,243 players solved today. Can you? 255 people finished in under a minute. We created a crossword puzzle just for Californians. 717 people are playing right now. 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Use](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/terms\/)[Privacy Notice](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/privacy\/)[CA Notice at Collection](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/privacy-policy\/#caprivacyrights)[Your CA Privacy Rights (Shine the Light)](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/privacy-policy\/#shinethelight)[DAA Industry Opt Out](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/privacy-policy\/#daaoptout)\n\n[Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale\/Targeted Ads)](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/yourdata\/)","attrs_readable_markdown":"![The A\\&amp;W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.]()\n\nThe A\\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.\n\nGoogle Street View\n\nJust shy of its 60th anniversary, [St. Helena’s](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/french-laundry-alum-fried-chicken-bay-area-20277298.php) drive-thru [A\\&W](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/calif-oldest-fast-food-chain-a-and-w-lodi-19661407.php) is closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the [San Francisco Chronicle.](https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/food\/restaurants\/article\/a-and-w-st-helena-closing-22003655.php) (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE.\n\nMarried couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A\\&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A\\&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now.\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\n“We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.”\n\n![Two root beer floats served at the A\\&amp;W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]()\n\nTwo root beer floats served at the A\\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\n\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\n\nIt’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A\\&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a [recent decline in school enrollment](https:\/\/winecountrytimes.com\/enrollment-at-saint-helena-unified-school-district-decreased-by-2-6-compared-to-previous-school-year\/) in the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A\\&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi.\n\n“I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A\\&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’”\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nThe St. Helena Star reported last August that [A\\&W had been listed for sale](https:\/\/napavalleyregister.com\/star\/news\/st-helena-restaurant-fast-food-business\/article_dae24a9e-2ebb-44e2-b867-5dd08eb43219.html) by real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also [one of the only chains](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/bay-area-gotts-roadside-turns-25-18672602.php) in town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses.\n\nIsaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant.\n\n![The A\\&amp;W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]()\n\nThe A\\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.\n\nSusana Guerrero\/SFGATE\n\nThe future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the [St. Helena Star reported](https:\/\/napavalleyregister.com\/star\/news\/st-helena-redevelopment-clif-family-azteca\/article_6a3ef478-94f1-41a2-b3b5-2da42472895f.html) that the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location.\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nIrvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said.\n\nFor Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A\\&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19.\n\n“I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.”\n\nArticle continues below this ad\n\nThe A\\&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley [Facebook group](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/248116986228540\/search\/?q=azteca) sharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A\\&W.\n\n“How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A\\&W in town,” one commenter wrote.\n\nMarch 11, 2026\n\n![Photo of Madeline Wells]()\n\nSenior Food Reporter\n\nMadeline Wells is a senior food reporter at SFGATE, where she has covered the Bay Area restaurant scene since 2019. Her column [\"Eat Like a Tourist\"](https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/food\/article\/nicks-restaurant-pacifica-review-19654972.php) won a San Francisco Press Club award in 2023. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley and previously worked at Oakland alt-weekly East Bay Express. You can email her at madeline.wells@sfgate.com.","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	A&W is closing this nearly 60-year-old Bay Area restaurant
Meta Description	St. Helena's drive-thru A&W is closing its doors on March 31. The Napa Valley burger and root beer float restaurant dates back to 1966.
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Boilerpipe Text	The A&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif. Google Street View Just shy of its 60th anniversary, St. Helena’s drive-thru A&W is closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE. Married couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now. Article continues below this ad “We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.” Two root beer floats served at the A&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE It’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a recent decline in school enrollment in the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi. “I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’” Article continues below this ad The St. Helena Star reported last August that A&W had been listed for sale by real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also one of the only chains in town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses. Isaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant. The A&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE The future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the St. Helena Star reported that the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location. Article continues below this ad Irvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said. For Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19. “I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.” Article continues below this ad The A&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley Facebook group sharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A&W. “How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A&W in town,” one commenter wrote. March 11, 2026 Senior Food Reporter Madeline Wells is a senior food reporter at SFGATE, where she has covered the Bay Area restaurant scene since 2019. Her column "Eat Like a Tourist" won a San Francisco Press Club award in 2023. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley and previously worked at Oakland alt-weekly East Bay Express. You can email her at madeline.wells@sfgate.com.
Markdown	SF Gate Logo Hearst Newspapers Logo [Skip to main content](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/napa-a-and-w-closing-22063761.php#content) [CA MINI CROSSWORD](https://www.sfgate.com/california-mini-crossword-puzzle-puzzmo/?utm_source=masthead&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=campaignname&utm_term=camini) [Home](https://www.sfgate.com/) - [Classifieds](http://sfc.ipublishmarketplace.com/sf-marketplace/) - [Standards & Practices](https://www.sfgate.com/standards/) - [Advertise With Us](https://marketing.sfgate.com/advertise-with-us-today?utm_source=sfgate) - [Privacy Notice](https://www.sfgate.com/privacy/) - [Terms of Use](https://www.sfgate.com/terms/) - [Ad Choices](http://www.aboutads.info/choices/) - [Your Privacy Choices](https://www.sfgate.com/yourdata/) [About SFGATE](https://www.sfgate.com/home/article/about-sfgate-15613713.php) [Careers](https://eevd.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_11007/requisitions?keyword=SFGATE&mode=location) [Contact SFGATE](https://www.sfgate.com/home/article/sfgate-staff-15734829.php) [Newsletters](https://link.sfgate.com/join/signup-sfgate) [News](https://www.sfgate.com/news/) - [Bay Area](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/) - [California Wildfires](https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/) - [Education](https://www.sfgate.com/education/) - [North Coast](https://www.sfgate.com/northcoast/) - [Politics](https://www.sfgate.com/politics/) - [Weather](https://www.sfgate.com/weather/) [Sports](https://www.sfgate.com/sports/) - [49ers](https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/) - [Giants](https://www.sfgate.com/giants/) - [A's](https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/) - [Warriors](https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/) [Bay Area](https://www.sfgate.com/local/) - [SF History](https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/) [Travel](https://www.sfgate.com/travel/) - [California Parks](https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/) - [Central Coast](https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/) - [Disneyland](https://www.sfgate.com/disneyland/) - [Hawaii](https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/) - [Monterey-Carmel](https://www.sfgate.com/monterey-carmel/) - [Tahoe](https://www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/) - [Wine Country](https://www.sfgate.com/winecountry/) [Food + Drink](https://www.sfgate.com/food/) [Culture](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/) [Tech](https://www.sfgate.com/tech/) [Los Angeles](https://www.sfgate.com/la/) [California](https://www.sfgate.com/california/) [National Parks](https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/) [Real Estate](https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/) - [New Homes](https://www.sfgate.com/newhomes/) - [(Virtual) Open Homes](https://www.sfgate.com/openhomes/) - [Luxury](https://www.sfgate.com/luxuryhomes/) - [Rentals](https://www.sfgate.com/rentals/) - [Place a Real Estate Ad](https://myagentads.hearst.com/realestate/sfchronicle/index.html) - [Neighborhood Guides](https://www.sfgate.com/sfneighborhoods/) - [Home & Garden](https://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/) - [Movers](https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/movers/) [Obits](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate?ipid=desktopnav9-12) - [Obituaries](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate?ipid=desktopnav9-12) - [Place an Obituary](https://ezads.hearst.com/obits/sfchronicle/index.html) [Best Of](https://www.sfgate.com/best/) [Shopping](https://www.sfgate.com/shopping/) [Puzzles](https://www.sfgate.com/puzzles/) [Sponsor Content](https://www.sfgate.com/sponsoredarticles/lifestyle/) - [StoryStudio](https://storystudio.sfgate.com/) - [Paid Press Releases](https://www.sfgate.com/business/press-releases/) - [Senior Living](https://www.sfgate.com/senior-living/) - [Sponsor Content: Business](https://www.sfgate.com/sponsoredarticles/business/) [SF Gate Logo](https://www.sfgate.com/) [CA MINI CROSSWORD](https://www.sfgate.com/california-mini-crossword-puzzle-puzzmo/?utm_source=masthead&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=campaignname&utm_term=camini) TOP STORY 23m ago [Restaurant that sells 20M bowls of signature dish to open inside Bay Area mall](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/chinese-restaurant-valley-fair-22194394.php) 23m ago [Food](https://www.sfgate.com/food/) # A\&W is closing this nearly 60-year-old Bay Area restaurant ## St. Helena's A\&W will serve its final root beer float on March 31 By [Madeline Wells](https://www.sfgate.com/author/madeline-wells/), Senior Food Reporter March 11, 2026 ![The A\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.]() The A\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif. Google Street View Just shy of its 60th anniversary, [St. Helena’s](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/french-laundry-alum-fried-chicken-bay-area-20277298.php) drive-thru [A\&W](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/calif-oldest-fast-food-chain-a-and-w-lodi-19661407.php) is closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the [San Francisco Chronicle.](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/a-and-w-st-helena-closing-22003655.php) (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE. ![](https://cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co/events/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl) Married couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A\&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A\&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now. Advertisement Article continues below this ad “We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.” ![Two root beer floats served at the A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]() Two root beer floats served at the A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE It’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A\&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a [recent decline in school enrollment](https://winecountrytimes.com/enrollment-at-saint-helena-unified-school-district-decreased-by-2-6-compared-to-previous-school-year/) in the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A\&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi. “I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A\&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’” Advertisement Article continues below this ad The St. Helena Star reported last August that [A\&W had been listed for sale](https://napavalleyregister.com/star/news/st-helena-restaurant-fast-food-business/article_dae24a9e-2ebb-44e2-b867-5dd08eb43219.html) by real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also [one of the only chains](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-gotts-roadside-turns-25-18672602.php) in town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses. Isaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant. ![The A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]() The A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE The future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the [St. Helena Star reported](https://napavalleyregister.com/star/news/st-helena-redevelopment-clif-family-azteca/article_6a3ef478-94f1-41a2-b3b5-2da42472895f.html) that the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Irvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said. For Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A\&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19. “I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.” Advertisement Article continues below this ad The A\&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley [Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/248116986228540/search/?q=azteca) sharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A\&W. “How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A\&W in town,” one commenter wrote. 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Readable Markdown	![The A\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif.]() The A\&W restaurant at 501 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif. Google Street View Just shy of its 60th anniversary, [St. Helena’s](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/french-laundry-alum-fried-chicken-bay-area-20277298.php) drive-thru [A\&W](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/calif-oldest-fast-food-chain-a-and-w-lodi-19661407.php) is closing its doors on March 31, as first reported by the [San Francisco Chronicle.](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/a-and-w-st-helena-closing-22003655.php) (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) A local Mexican grocery store and restaurant is under contract to take over the iconic space, sources told SFGATE. Married couple Pete and Annette Knight became the franchise owners of the Lodi A\&W in 1996 and later became the franchise owners of the St. Helena A\&W in 2014. The burger and root beer float restaurant at 501 Main Street in St. Helena was only supposed to be a short-term contract for them, Pete Knight told SFGATE — but they kept renewing, year after year. Until now. Article continues below this ad “We started to see, in the last few years, a decline in foot traffic,” Knight said. “... The community is aging out, and young families aren’t moving in.” ![Two root beer floats served at the A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]() Two root beer floats served at the A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE It’s a sharp contrast to the 1980s and ’90s, when the St. Helena A\&W was one of the chain’s busiest locations in the country, according to Knight. He pointed to a [recent decline in school enrollment](https://winecountrytimes.com/enrollment-at-saint-helena-unified-school-district-decreased-by-2-6-compared-to-previous-school-year/) in the area. High schoolers have long been a key demographic for the St. Helena A\&W, which dates back to 1966: St. Helena High School is just across the street. Knight added that the difficulty of finding employees, the expense of doing business in Napa Valley and their manager recently moving away all contributed to their decision to close. As Knight and his wife have gotten older, it has also become harder to make the two-hour drive from where they live in Lodi. “I will be 70 this year,” Knight said. “I’ve been with A\&W since ’73. So it just felt like the stars aligned, and we told the landowner, ‘Hey, we’re not going to stay any longer.’” Article continues below this ad The St. Helena Star reported last August that [A\&W had been listed for sale](https://napavalleyregister.com/star/news/st-helena-restaurant-fast-food-business/article_dae24a9e-2ebb-44e2-b867-5dd08eb43219.html) by real estate agency Marcus & Millichap, advertising the burger restaurant as the only drive-thru in St. Helena. It’s also [one of the only chains](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-gotts-roadside-turns-25-18672602.php) in town — St. Helena has long had heavy regulations on formula businesses. Isaak Heitzeberg, the managing director of investments at Marcus & Millichap, told SFGATE that the location is currently under contract with the owners of Azteca Market, a grocery store and Mexican restaurant in St. Helena and Napa, to take over 501 Main St. “It’s not approved yet by the city,” he said. “They haven’t cleared all the hurdles yet.” He declined to comment on the selling price of the restaurant. ![The A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif.]() The A\&W location at 216 E. Lodi Ave. in Lodi, Calif. Susana Guerrero/SFGATE The future of Azteca Market’s location at 789 Main St. in St. Helena is currently in question following a major redevelopment plan proposed by its property owner. In February, the [St. Helena Star reported](https://napavalleyregister.com/star/news/st-helena-redevelopment-clif-family-azteca/article_6a3ef478-94f1-41a2-b3b5-2da42472895f.html) that the Clif Family Winery had presented a proposal to replace five buildings in St. Helena, one of which includes an Azteca Market location. Article continues below this ad Irvin Bogarin, a manager at Azteca, declined to confirm the pending sale. “We’re working on staying within the community, and if everything works out, we will continue doing business in the community,” he said. For Pete Knight, the closure of the St. Helena A\&W at the end of the month is bittersweet. The restaurant has been a part of his life since 1976, when he started working as its manager at the age of 19. “I still know all these people who were teenagers who worked for me back in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “They’re adults, and some of them are even grandparents now.” Article continues below this ad The A\&W brand was founded in California, starting as a roadside root beer stand in Lodi in 1919. In a Napa Valley [Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/248116986228540/search/?q=azteca) sharing the news of the closure, many reminisced over childhood memories of going out for root beer floats and working their first jobs at A\&W. “How sad for the young people of Saint Helena not to have A\&W in town,” one commenter wrote. March 11, 2026 ![Photo of Madeline Wells]() Senior Food Reporter Madeline Wells is a senior food reporter at SFGATE, where she has covered the Bay Area restaurant scene since 2019. Her column ["Eat Like a Tourist"](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/nicks-restaurant-pacifica-review-19654972.php) won a San Francisco Press Club award in 2023. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley and previously worked at Oakland alt-weekly East Bay Express. You can email her at madeline.wells@sfgate.com.
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