Formerly: A&W Root Beer Stand
Kalamazoo, Michigan · Founded 1931
A Kalamazoo drive-in business tracing its roots to 1931, still serving hot dogs and root beer from Westnedge and Portage locations.
The Root Beer Stand is a Kalamazoo-area drive-in business that traces its history to 1931. It currently operates a Westnedge Avenue location and a Portage Street location, serving hot dogs and root beer directly to customers in their vehicles. The business’s original 1931 site and the full route to its present branches remain a subject for local-record research.
The Root Beer Stand traces its Kalamazoo history to 1931. A local-history account identifies Norman and Isabelle Schmitt as opening an A&W Root Beer Stand at Portage and Lake Streets, though the claim requires confirmation through contemporary records.
Source: Discover Kalamazoo, “The Root Beer Stand (Westnedge)”; SW Michigan Spark local-history post, 2026.
Local television reports that the Root Beer Stand opens its 93rd season and describes it as a Kalamazoo-area staple on Westnedge Avenue.
Source: WOODTV, “Blake & Britt Around Town: Kalamazoo's Root Beer Stand, 93 years strong,” June 28, 2024; UpNorthLive, “Serving up tradition: Kalamazoo's Root Beer Stand kickstarts its 93rd season,” February 12, 2024.
WWMT reports that the Root Beer Stand opens its 95th season, with active locations on South Westnedge Avenue and Portage Street.
Source: WWMT, “Kalamazoo's Root Beer Stand opens for its 95th season,” February 17, 2025.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Local destination listings and recent television reporting consistently date the Root Beer Stand’s Kalamazoo history to 1931. A local-history account places the original A&W operation at Portage and Lake Streets, while current listings identify Westnedge and Portage branches. The evidence supports a long-lived business lineage but does not yet document every location, ownership, and operating period.
The current Westnedge location is widely associated with the business’s 1931 history, but the reviewed evidence includes a local-history account placing the original A&W stand at Portage and Lake Streets. No deeds, directories, permits, or city records were located establishing uninterrupted operation at the present Westnedge address from 1931 onward.
Recent local reporting describes the business serving hot dogs and root beer to customers in its parking spaces, and destination listings identify its drive-in restaurant format.
The business has a credible 1931 lineage, but no statewide comparison of Michigan root-beer stands, A&W locations, drive-ins, and their continuity was located. Its Michigan-wide seniority has not been established.
The current Westnedge Avenue Root Beer Stand opened at that location in 1931.
The business traces its Kalamazoo history to 1931, but a local-history account places the original A&W operation at Portage and Lake Streets. The reviewed evidence does not establish that the current Westnedge branch has occupied its present site since 1931.
Source: Discover Kalamazoo, “The Root Beer Stand (Westnedge)”; SW Michigan Spark local-history post, 2026.
The Root Beer Stand is located at 4405 S. Westnedge Ave.
Current destination and restaurant listings identify the Westnedge Root Beer Stand at 4400 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008.
Source: Discover Kalamazoo, “The Root Beer Stand (Westnedge)”; Tripadvisor, “Root Beer Stand - Kalamazoo Restaurants.”
The Root Beer Stand is definitively Michigan's oldest root beer drive-in.
The business has a credible 1931 Kalamazoo lineage, but no comparative statewide research establishing Michigan seniority was identified.
Source: Discover Kalamazoo, “The Root Beer Stand (Westnedge)”; WWMT, “Kalamazoo's Root Beer Stand opens for its 95th season,” February 17, 2025.
The Root Beer Stand has lasted because it has kept an unusually simple format meaningful to local customers: drive-in service, a small menu, seasonal anticipation, and root beer as the center of the experience. Its long history is real, but the exact location and ownership chain behind that history deserves the same care as the nostalgia.
The Root Beer Stand traces its Kalamazoo history to 1931. Local accounts connect that beginning to an A&W Root Beer Stand at Portage and Lake Streets, while the business now operates locations on South Westnedge Avenue and Portage Street. The full timeline of location changes, franchise status, and ownership still needs confirmation from Kalamazoo records.
The Root Beer Stand has a credible Kalamazoo lineage dating to 1931, but it has not been established as Michigan's oldest drive-in or root-beer stand. A statewide title requires comparable research into earlier Michigan drive-ins and direct evidence of their operating continuity.
The Root Beer Stand operates a Westnedge Avenue branch at 4400 S. Westnedge Ave. in Kalamazoo and a Portage Street location. Recent local reporting says both locations were open for the 2025 season; check the business directly for current hours and exact service details.
Yes. Recent local coverage describes the Root Beer Stand serving customers in its parking spaces, with hot dogs and root beer delivered through its drive-in vehicle-service format.
4400 S Westnedge Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
None on file
The Root Beer Stand operates drive-in locations on Westnedge Avenue and Portage Street. Recent reporting says both locations open seasonally, including a February start in 2025; verify current locations, hours, menu, and payment methods before visiting.