What a proud papa he must be! A rare Papa Burger statue greets you at the 1960s vintage A&W Drive-in restaurant in Faribault, Minnesota. Papa is single these days — Mama Burger, Teen Burger and Baby Burger were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they are helping in the kitchen. At the restaurant entrance, the Great Root Bear, sitting on a barrel of root beer (get it?) is there to welcome you. The Burger family dates to the early 1960s, and the Bear came along in 1974. The mascots of differing vintage get along just fine, as does everyone else at this friendly restaurant, where I enjoyed a satisfying stop on Sunday. As you can see from my meal, I left a happy customer. A&W just turned 100, and restaurants of this midcentury vintage are rare indeed. Scroll back to see my visit to a similar A&W in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. That one has an older sign. This one has Papa Bear. They are both wonderful holdovers of a simpler time on the American road. Did you grow up with A&W? #retrologist #minnesota_captures #minnestagrammers #minnesotaphotographer (at A&W Faribault DriveIn/DineIn) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzzD09PFcCU/?igshid=gzfa73mw8l0m