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Sonic set for grand opening today

Thursday, January 1, 2009
BY MARIBETH WARD, Staff Writer

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Visiting Putnam County's newest restaurant is a delightful experience that includes carhops on roller skates, great food and scrumptious desserts.

Sonic Industries Services Inc., franchisor of America's largest chain of drive-in restaurants, announced the opening of a new Sonic Drive-In in Greencastle. It officially opened this morning at 6 a.m.

Jason Espinoza, BBWI Investments and Mason Harrison Ratliff Enterprises area the principal owners of the new restaurant located at 40 Putnam Plaza. The restaurant features 20 drive-in stalls, two walk-up ordering stations on the patio and a drive-thru.

"We are very excited to open the new Sonic," said Jason Espinoza, partner/manager. "We look forward to serving the community and delivering the great service Sonic Drive-Ins are known for across the country."

The restaurant adds 126 jobs to the area's economy. Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray welcomed Espinoza and other Sonic officials at a ribbon cutting ceremony held Wednesday morning.

Murray told the group gathered on the Patio about talking to a class of students at DePauw University.

"As soon as I told them Sonic was coming they went completely silent. This group of students come from all over the country and they were all thrilled to have a Sonic," she said.

The restaurant chain, originally started as a hamburger and root beer stand in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., called Top Hat Drive-In, and then changed its name to Sonic in 1959. The first drive-in to adopt the Sonic name is still serving customers in Stillwater, Okla.

Today, the drive-in chain has more than 3,500 drive-ins coast to coast, where more than a million customers eat every day.

They specialize in made-to-order fast food, and are known for their specialty menu items and personal service. A unique menu includes sandwiches served on thick Texas Toast, extra-long cheese coneys, fresh-made onion rings, Tater Tots and a variety of frozen drink treats and fountain favorites. In fact, you can order more than 168,000 drink combinations.

They also have salads and wraps, frozen treats, kids' meals and breakfast all day long. During Happy Hour (from 2-4 p.m. daily) certain drinks and slushes are half price. There are monthly specials and frozen favorites.

In the 1950s, Sonic's unique use of curbside speakers allowing customers to place food orders without ever leaving their cars spawned the slogan "Sonic, Service with the Speed of Sound."

In recent years, that slogan has been replaced with "Sonic, America's Drive-In."

Sonic fosters four core values: relationships as a way of life, an entrepreneurial spirit, respect for the individual and surprise and delight.

Sonic Corp. is an Oklahoma City-based, publicly held company that owns, operates and franchises Sonic Drive-Ins (NASDAQ: SONC).

Today, the company posts average unit sales of more than $1 million.

For more information about Sonic Corp. and its subsidiaries, visit Sonic at www.sonicdrivein.com.

Comments

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It will be good for a year, then it will be ran down like all the others in GC.

-- Posted by GreencastleResident on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 1:04 AM

It's a good thing that Sonic is a chain store type of fast food. Any Mom-&-Pop diner would be really struggling to open at times like these. Good luck.

-- Posted by Xgamer on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 5:55 AM

Welcome Sonic!! You will be a nice change for the people in this County. I'm glad to that you are open. 126 Employees, that's great!!!

-- Posted by ladycubs on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 7:12 AM

I stopped a couple of weeks ago at the Sonic DriveInn in Avon. I thought the food was very good. Taking nothing away from Jacksons or the Putman Inn or THe Duck, but I would still like to see an Applebees or a TGI Fridays type resturant. Good luck to Sonic and thanks for coming to town and bringing the jobs with you!

-- Posted by localjoe on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 7:40 AM

This will only be a "crappy fast food joint" if we make it that way. This is a great new addition to our community. We need to support it and be respectful to them. We always want to complain and we are the ones that throw trash down & write on bathroom walls etc.

Yeah, it is fast food but it is very good. They have an amazing selection and full menu all day. You won't find that anywhere else. I will be a regular Sonic customer. I hope you will too!

-- Posted by not_a_native on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 8:17 AM

See ya later...I'm off to get some onion rings and a milk shake at the new Sonic.

-- Posted by purple_heat on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 8:46 AM

Awesome! I drove by last night and the parking lot was jam packed. I'll be getting some foot long coneys for Saturday nights Colts game!

I was also excited to see they had a drive through and not just drive-up service.

-- Posted by UMad on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 8:51 AM

I don't think it will last, they had one in Terre Haute and the food was not very good and place didn't last very long at all. I'll stick with McDonald's

-- Posted by pointer on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 9:07 AM

We are just glad to see something different in Greencastle. Not that the food of the other resturants is bad, just get sick of having to pick from the same few places if we want to go out to eat. I would love to see a something like a Golden Coral. Maybe in the future sometime. We are looking forward to trying the new Sonic though :)

-- Posted by putnammom on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 10:31 AM

steak sandwich and tots!!!

footlong chillie cheese coney...

breakfast burritoes...

Happy Hour 2-4.... Sonic is my favorite!!!!

And if Jason's runnin' it, it's gonna be GREAT!!!

-- Posted by kenparsonsiii on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 10:53 AM

I'm glad to see so many nice comments about the new restaurant. At times it seems so many of the comments are negative. It's great to start the new year with a positive outlook!

-- Posted by handsonhealer on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 12:09 PM

Welcome Sonic! Good luck to a great new restaurant in Greencastle and good luck to the new owners/managers of the Bon Ton in Bainbridge! Hope both restaurants have a successful 2009!

-- Posted by greatstuff on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 1:39 PM

lime-ade slush wooooowwwww!!!!! sonic is great, it's about time we get a fast food joint that will make mcd work to keep their quality what it should be.......good luck and thanks sonic!

-- Posted by gottokno on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 1:44 PM

Come on GreencastleResident, if you don't like Greencastle's restaurants, move! I think in comparison to other towns, we do very well on quality. I am sure your kitchen is probably not up to State Board of Health standards!

-- Posted by frankie07 on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 2:15 PM

Best of luck to the great new Sonic restaurant in Greencastle, and also, best of luck to the new owners/managers of the Bon Ton Restaurant in Bainbridge. Hope both of these restaurants have a wonderful '09.

-- Posted by greatstuff on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 2:58 PM

Welcome to Greencastle Sonic!! We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship!!

I can't wait to eat one of those burgers and coneys!!

CONGRATS!

-- Posted by luv2bmom2001 on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 7:14 PM

Welcome Sonic !!!! I've only been to the Sonic in Kansas City, MO - and it was very good. Peach Shakes ..... and breakfast sandwiches. Yummmmm.

-- Posted by Scripted Spontaneity on Fri, Jan 2, 2009, at 10:22 PM

Hopefully the quality stays good once the "initial opening" has passed. It seems like the majority of the chain restuarants in town don't keep the quality that their other locations do outside of Greencastle. And the only way that a restuarant becomes a "cr_ppy fast food joint" is when they do it to themselves - by not keeping their building up or buying poor quality food.

Good Luck Sonic and Give The Others In Town A Run For Their Money!

-- Posted by indy500 on Sat, Jan 3, 2009, at 12:18 AM

oh there were some negative comments but the speedy bg folks got them as usual

-- Posted by flygal026 on Sat, Jan 3, 2009, at 7:46 AM

I wish Sonic the best of luck! Hopefully it will be a good thing for our community for many years to come. My only concern is that I have eaten at 2 different Sonics before. One in Terre Haute, and the other in Plainfield. The food was average, and both locations were closed in 2 years? I wonder why? Hopefully it is because both of those locations have much more competition.

-- Posted by steelnovice on Sat, Jan 3, 2009, at 10:49 AM

Terre Haute and Plainfield is a much tougher market for them to capture. They have more "upscale" food joints such as Texas Roadhouse, Tumbleweed, etc in Terre Haute. Plainfield has Steak N Shake, Bob Evans, and more formal restaurants.

I honestly believe they will be very successful here. It seems everyone is interested in it by all the traffic that parking lot is seeing now. I don't personally like the location as that parking lot is a disaster. The whole parking lot needs redesigned and mapped out similar to lots in Plainfield which have actual driving paths. Right now it's a free for all out there.

-- Posted by UMad on Sat, Jan 3, 2009, at 12:07 PM

We enjoyed Sonic when we lived in Kansas! Here on Oahu it's Jack In the Box! Not enjoyable! Hope Sonic works out there!

-- Posted by Oahu_Armywife on Sat, Jan 3, 2009, at 1:25 PM

Perhaps the local car club will adopt Sonic as their official gathering spot. This would be mutually beneficial in that club members would have a nice place to gather (other than an empty parking lot) and Sonic would have brisk business on Wednesdays if the weather is nice. The congregation of hot rods may even attract additional customers. Perhaps this could even draw the car clubs out more than once a week as well.

-- Posted by VonMises on Mon, Jan 5, 2009, at 10:52 AM

VonMises - great idea. I've seen the car club gathering in the parking lot before as I was driving by. The club meeting at Sonic would be a great draw for business for both the club and Sonic.

-- Posted by Scripted Spontaneity on Tue, Jan 6, 2009, at 8:10 AM

Maybe you should be thankful that they are creating more jobs and giving you another option of some place different to eat at. Maybe if you would support them, they would suceed, oh but wait it's easier to wine and cry instaed of being a grown-up and helping your community out. I live in Brazil and would love to have a Sonic in our town, but I willing to drive up there and give them some business, so stay home and let others from other towns help out....winer........

-- Posted by Big Bill on Thu, Jan 8, 2009, at 1:34 AM

I had eaten at another Sonic, in another state, and knew the food was good, it still is, I wish them all the luck in the world, they have a good selection, and it is well cooked. Sincerely wish you to do well in Greencastle, I will eat there again

-- Posted by whatno_guessing on Thu, Jan 8, 2009, at 12:39 PM