Douglas Rogers

Tom Wahl's

Tom Wahl's in Avon has been a family tradition for upstate New Yorkers since 1955. Customers have been known to travel great distances just to enjoy a juicy Wahlburger®, hot crispy fries and a frosted mug or two of our delicious handcrafted root beer. Today we still handcraft the root beer in each store the same as Tom's first batch, but we now have 8 upstate locations. This photo was taken the first day of business in March of 1955. The picture shows Tom and his brother Bill working in the original trailer. The town's people were a little skeptical that a little root beer stand that served Twin Kiss ice cream cones would do much business. Business did thrive, and year after year Tom would add on to his menu and then have to add on to his building. The reasons that Tom Wahl's has thrived are numerous. No matter what, Tom would never cut back on the quality of the items he sold. Tom is not a man that would ever bring this up, but a huge reason the business grew year after year was Tom himself. Tom had the unique ability to surround himself with talented people that followed his lead in taking care of the business. 1986 brought a new chapter as Tom sold the business to a small group of local business owners. Using the methods and principles that Tom established continues to provide a road map for success.