Carson City A&W closes

After more than 40 years of serving deluxe cheeseburgers and chilled mugs of root beer, Carson City's last A&W Restaurant locked its drive-through window for the last time this week.

Store owner Pete Livermore said he is relieved to be out of the fast-food business, but it feels a little strange right now.

"I had to go to lunch someplace else today," he said. "The majority of the time -three to four times a week - I ate at A&W."

Livermore, who is also a Carson City supervisor, sold the 111 Clearview Drive store for about $600,000 to the city. He said the city will bulldoze it to make way for a project to widen Clearview Drive.

Livermore also had an offer from Dollar Loan Center, which has stores in Reno and Sparks. He said the loan company backed out once it knew what the city was planning for the road. Livermore said he's a private businessman, and the sale didn't have anything to do with his role as a supervisor.

The Livermores closed the store on Monday night and threw a party for friends and family to celebrate A&W's tenure in Carson City. Eleven employees left with small severance packages, he said.

In 1995, the Livermores closed the A&W on South Carson Street and opened the Clearview Drive restaurant. In 2001, they sold the A&W on Highway 50 East.

Now that the mats are rolled up and the glasses are packed away, Livermore said he will "enjoy life without the intensity of operating a business seven days a week."

He said business had worsened since the nearby Wal-Mart closed.

"My wife and I have been in A&W for over 40 years; we're getting tired. That's why we put it on the market last year. I love what I'm doing with the city and my hospital involvement. A lot had fallen onto my wife."

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.