Stewart’s Root Beer A Tempting East Coast Tradition

Robert McCay Green first created ice cream floats in 1874 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit for inventing the first root beer float in 1893 goes to Colorado brewing company owner Frank J. Wisner. Yet it was Frank Stewart who perfected the recipe beginning in 1924.

Stewart wanted to create an ultra-creamy, delicious root beer. He and a chemist worked together to develop a special blend of 20 extracts of roots, herbs and berries. With the success of his root beer, Stewart opened his first restaurant in Mansfield, Ohio. He grew his business by opening up more locations — primarily as car-hops — throughout the United States.

Today, Stewart’s All American operates more than 30 restaurants, grills, drive-ins and food concession trailers throughout the East Coast, as far west as Marion, Ohio. It's also claimed June 17 as National Stewart's Root Beer Day. Proud of its longstanding family-friendly fare and prices, Stewart’s is especially thrilled that its world-famous root beer float — served with a choice of soft-served vanilla ice cream or hard vanilla ice cream, plus root beer, diet root beer, orange ’n’ cream, black cherry or cream soda — are still customer favorites nearly a century after Frank Stewart first invented his sweet, frothy concoction.

While Stewart’s is in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 20+ of its locations claim New Jersey as home. And in homage to the root beer king of the East Coast, Archer commissioned artist Andrew Tedesco to create a mural of the Stewart’s logo for Archer Hotel Florham Park, New Jersey. The artwork adorns a concrete block wall and sliding wooden doors in AKB, the hotel's bar and eatery.

Stewart’s Root Beer Float

1. Place 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a cold glass.
2. Pour chilled Stewart’s Root Beer over the ice cream.
3. Serve it up, then drink it down.