A former A&W fast-food restaurant in Frisco known better for its religious messaging than its root beer floats is now a recreational marijuana shop.
“We finished a long day of getting the store set up, and then I took our whole Native crew out for dinner.” said Native Roots Apothecary owner Rhett Jordan. “We told some locals (in Breckenridge) about our new shop, and one of them said, ‘Thank God!’
“Yes, somebody literally said, ‘Thank God.’ I was like, ‘Amen.’ “
Donna Drebenstedt owned the Frisco A&W franchise with her husband, Reuben, a Messianic Jewish pastor. The restaurant’s sign was long known for its Bible verses and other preaching phrases. In 2003, corporate A&W talked with the franchise owners about the placement of their messaging — and they took a break from displaying them.
But then the messaging returned to the famous sign, which was loved by some and hated by others.
Jordan received the building’s certificate of occupancy Monday, and Wednesday’s 4:20 p.m. opening was the beginning of a new era for the odd landmark.
“Once you bring up the Frisco A&W to anyone who’s spent time in Colorado, if they’re religious or not religious, they instantly know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said. “It’s ironic that we took a space that is so iconic for religious statements, something that is known to be this societal eyesore, and make it into something that represents a new generation of freedom.
“It represents a transition from religion to free enterprise.”
