Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as Sonic (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

), is an American

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

fast-food

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

owned by

Inspire Brands Inspire Brands LLC is an American fast-food restaurant franchise company. Backed by Roark Capital Group, it owns the Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin-Robbins chains, which have a combined ...

, the parent company of

Arby's Arby's is an American fast-food restaurant, fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-ca ...

Jimmy John's Jimmy John's Franchise, LLC, commonly referred to as Jimmy John's, is an American multinational sandwich chain, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high sch ...

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, and nicknamed BW3, or BDubs or BWW) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise specializing in chicken wings. As of March 2025, there are over 1,300 locations a ...

Baskin-Robbins Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty store, specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.Dunkin'. Sonic, founded by Troy N. Smith Sr., opened its first location in 1953, under the name Top Hat Drive-In. Originally a walk-up

root beer Root beer is a North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla; also used to make a soft drink called sarsaparilla) as the ...

stand outside a log-cabin steakhouse selling soda, hamburgers, and hotdogs, Sonic currently has over 3,400 locations in the United States. Sonic is known for its use of

carhop A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as ''American Graffiti'' and television shows such as ...

s on

roller skates Roller skates are boots with wheels mounted to the bottom, allowing the user to travel on hard surfaces similarly to an ice skater on ice. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with a line of wheels replac ...

, and hosts an annual competition (in most locations) to determine the top skating carhop in the company. The company's core products include the "Chili Cheese Coney", "Sonic Cheeseburger Combo", "Sonic Blasts", "Master Shakes", and "Wacky Pack Kids Meals".

History

Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sonic founder Troy N. Smith Sr., returned to his hometown of Seminole, Oklahoma, where he became employed as a

milkman Milk delivery is a Delivery (commerce), delivery service dedicated to supplying milk, typically in milk bottle, bottles or cartons, to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a Cowman ...

. He decided to work delivering bread because bread is lighter than milk. Soon afterwards, Smith purchased the Cottage Cafe, a little diner in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Before long, he sold it and opened a fast-food service, Troy's Pan Full of Chicken, on the edge of town. In 1953, Smith joined with a business partner to purchase a five-acre parcel of land that had a log house and a walk-up

stand named the Top Hat. The two continued operating the root beer stand and converted the log house into a steak restaurant. After realizing that the stand was averaging $700 a week in the sale of root beer, hamburgers, and

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

s, Smith decided to focus on the more-profitable root beer stand. He bought out his business partner. Initially, Top Hat customers parked their

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s anywhere on the

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

and walked up to place orders. In

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Smith saw a drive-in that used speakers for ordering. He suspected that he could increase his sales by controlling the parking and having the customers order from

speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

at their cars, with carhops delivering the food to the cars. Smith borrowed several automobiles from a friend who owned a used-car lot to establish a layout for controlled parking. He also had some so-called "

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

boys" wire an intercom system in the parking lot. Sales immediately tripled. Charles Woodrow Pappe, an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, saw the Shawnee drive-in and was impressed. Smith and he negotiated the first franchise location in Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1956, based on a handshake. By 1958, two more drive-ins were built, in Enid and Stillwater. Upon learning that the Top Hat name was already

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

ed, Smith and Pappe changed its name to the Sonic brand in 1959. The new name worked with their existing slogan, "Service with the Speed of Sound". After the name change, the first Sonic sign was installed at the Stillwater Top-Hat Drive-In. This was the first of three Sonics in Stillwater. The original Sonic with the first sign was demolished and renovated in May 2015. Although Smith and Pappe were being asked to help open new franchise locations, no real royalty plan was in place. The pair decided to have their paper company charge an extra penny for each Sonic-label hamburger bag it sold. The proceeds would then be split between Smith and Pappe. The first franchise contracts under this plan were drawn up, but still no joint

marketing plan A marketing plan is a plan created to accomplish specific marketing objectives, outlining a company's advertising and marketing efforts for a given period, describing the current marketing position of a business, and discussing the target market a ...

, standardized menu, or detailed operating requirements were in place.

1960s and 1970s

Sonic's founders formed Sonic Supply as a supply and distribution division in the 1960s. Under Smith, longtime franchise holders Marvin Jirous and Matt Kinslow were hired to run the division. In 1973, Sonic Supply was restructured as a franchise company that was briefly named Sonic Systems of America. It provided franchisees with equipment, building plans, and basic operational instructions. As the company grew into a regionally known operation during the 1960s and 1970s, the drive-ins were mainly in small towns in Oklahoma,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. In 1967, the year Pappe died, the brand had 41 drive-ins. By 1972, this number had risen to 165, and by 1978, 1000. In 1968, Sonic introduced the Pickle-O's, fried pickle slices. In 1977, the company established the Sonic School for manager training. Franchisees operated most of the drive-ins and often made the store manager a business partner, which is the case even to the present day.

1980s and 1990s

In 1983, the company's board of directors hired C. Stephen Lynn as president. In 1984, Lynn hired attorney J. Clifford Hudson to head the legal department. Under Lynn, Sonic and its major franchisees began to encourage the development of local-advertising cooperatives, under the leadership of Keith Sutterfield as advertising manager and later as VP of marketing in which Sutterfield developed a field structure to work with the franchisees. New franchises began to expand the company into new areas and redevelop markets that had been unsuccessful in the past. These developments, combined with a major advertising campaign featuring singer and actor

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

, led to significant growth and a new image that made Sonic a nationally recognized name. In 1986, Lynn, with a group of investors, completed a $10-million

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

and took the company

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

. The next year, Sonic moved its offices to leased space in downtown Oklahoma City and began to assume a higher profile in the community. In 1991, Sonic became a

publicly traded A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

company again. By 1994, the corporation had renegotiated the franchise agreements with its franchisees. During the mid-1990s, Sonic opened 100–150 new stores a year. Beginning in 1998, Sonic began a retrofit program, called "Sonic 2000", to redesign and update all stores in its chain to what was called a "retro-future" look.

2000s

Hudson was named chairman of Sonic Corp. in January 2000.Executive Team Member Profile: J. Clifford Hudson
. ''Official Sonic Web Site'', America's Drive-in Brand Properties LLC. In September of 2002, Sonic Corporation introduced PartnerNet to its franchisees, an intranet array of services which for the first time, digitally linked all Sonic Drive-in locations to Sonic Corporation. The new intranet was via Hughes Satellite Services and provided advancements like credit card processing and video training. The compulsory service package was headlined with the introduction of Sonic Live Radio by StudioStream Signature Sound, featuring a toll-free request line, 866-SONIC-FM, and live on-air personalities. The live radio style was first of its kind for corporate America, later emulated by the likes of Walmart. Sonic Live Radio, in beta since 2001, was released to all locations in February of 2003. Sonic gained further attention in 2003 following the release of comedic reality show '' The Simple Life'' starring

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

and Nicole Richie. Hilton and Richie, previously with no experience in having a job, had to work in a Sonic site in Altus, Arkansas. Celebrating its 50th birthday in 2003, Sonic briefly added the Birthday Cake Shake to the menu. As a part of the anniversary celebration, Pickle-O's made another appearance as a recurring item. Development milestones celebrated in the 2000s include the opening of the th Sonic Drive-In in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the th Sonic Drive-In in the Chicago market (

Algonquin, Illinois Algonquin is a village in McHenry and Kane counties, Illinois, in the United States. It is a suburb of Chicago, located approximately northwest of the Loop. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 29,700. The village is known as ...

). In October 2004, President Pattye Moore stepped down to spend more time with her family. On June 28, 2005, helped by new menu items and increased advertising exposure, Sonic Corp. reported double-digit increases in net income and revenue in the third quarter that year. On January 5, 2005, the company started to install card readers in the drive-in stalls at its 544 company-owned locations by the end of January that year. In 2007, the company opened its first stores in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, in Waretown, New Jersey. In 2009, Sonic partnered with

DonorsChoose.org DonorsChoose is a United States–based nonprofit organization that allows individuals to donate directly to Public school (government funded)#United States, public school classroom projects. The organization has been given Charity Navigator's hig ...

on a collaborative effort, Limeades for Learning, the chain's first systemwide

cause marketing Cause marketing is marketing done by a for-profit business that seeks to both increase profits and to better society in accordance with corporate social responsibility, such as by including activist messages in advertising. A similar phrase, cau ...

initiative. Public school teachers request needed supplies and materials and Sonic customers vote on how to allocate over $500,000 each autumn. In the first seven years of the program, Sonic and its franchisees donated more than $6 million and impacted learning for more than 349,000 students nationwide. In September 2009, Omar Janjua joined the company as president of its restaurant operating subsidiary, Sonic Restaurants, Inc. and left in 2015. Despite growth into new markets outside their traditional footprint, the company was hit hard by the recession of 2008–2009. In 2009, the brand had multiple quarters of declines in same-store sales. Plans to bring Sonic to Alaska had not yet come to fruition. On October 26, 2015, Sonic opened its first

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

location in Smithfield, reporting to have received 500 orders on its opening day. In the mid-2010s, the company began a refranchising effort and began to add to its numbers of stores again.

2010s

In January 2010, Sonic announced that they would begin switching to cage-free eggs, gestation crate-free pork, and chickens killed using controlled-atmosphere stunning methods instead of traditional shackling and electrical stunning. However, the company has subsequently backtracked on these commitments and has faced widespread public criticism. Sonic reformulated its soft-serve ice cream to meet the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

standards of identity that define what constitutes real ice cream and introduced Real Ice Cream on May 17, 2010. Several new hot dog items were also introduced in June 2010 and February 2011. Craig Miller was hired as chief information officer in January 2012. In June 2010, Danielle Vona was hired as chief marketing officer. In late 2010, Sonic announced the end of its 17-year relationship with advertising agency Barkley. A group of specialized agencies was selected to represent the company, and in early 2011, San Francisco-based Goodby Silverstein and Partners was named as the new creative agency for the company. In 2017, Sonic announced it would be adding seven new stores in Hawaii in the near future. On September 25, 2018,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based Inspire Brands, owner of

and

, announced that it would acquire Sonic for $2.3 billion. The acquisition was completed on December 7, 2018. In September 2017, Sonic opened its first location in Alaska in Wasilla, and a year later it opened its second Alaska location in Fairbanks.

2020s

In 2020, Sonic unveiled a new drive-in design with an updated, wider layout for car docks and the drive-thru lane, a new kitchen layout built for efficiency, and an aesthetic makeover. By March 2020, all locations indefinitely suspended patio dining due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, but continued to serve take-away and pickup customers. On November 21, 2020, a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

occurred at the drive-thru of a Sonic Drive-In in Bellevue, Nebraska. Two people were killed, and two others were injured. A 23-year-old man was arrested; he had also allegedly made a bomb threat to the location before. In March 2022, the man pled guilty to all charges filed against him, including murder, attempted murder and arson. He asked to be sentenced to death, but was ordered to undergo mental health evaluation, and has not yet been sentenced as of 2023.

Company profile

Although Sonic has operated since the early 1950s, Sonic Corp. incorporated in Delaware in 1990. It has its corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City; the headquarters building features a dine-in Sonic restaurant in an adjacent building. Prior to its acquisition by Inspire Brands, its stock traded on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

with the symbol SONC. Most restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. Total 2016 revenues were around $100 million with net income of $18 million.

Employee relations and opportunities

In February 2019, employees of three Ohio locations resigned'' en masse'' due to management changes, as well as what they alleged was a 50% reduction of the employee hourly pay rate, a claim denied by Sonic. In 2020, Sonic added a tipping feature via the online ordering app. In 2021, Sonic added an option to tip at the stalls.

Sonic Beach

In June 2011, the first location under the name Sonic Beach was opened in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the United States, U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and ...

. A second location, opened in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, in November 2011, lacked drive-in stalls due to its beach-side location. Both locations included outdoor seating and flatscreen televisions, but have since closed. A third location was opened in Miami Gardens. The fourth location was opened January 2014 in Lauderhill. Along with the traditional menu items, Sonic Beach offered several new items, including popcorn shrimp, Philly cheesesteaks, and pulled pork sandwiches. Sonic Beach serves beer and wine. Remaining locations have been rebranded under the traditional Sonic name, although retaining the Sonic Beach logo. Sonic sign latham 2018

Advertising

Sonic ran its first television advertisement in 1977. One of the company's most memorable advertising campaigns, which ran from 1987 to 1993, featured Frankie Avalon. In May 1999, the company began a new campaign featuring the character Katie the Carhop. Sonic was also involved with

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

. The company contracted with

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...

in late 2000 to be an associate sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Sr. during the

2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series 2006), won NASCAR Rookie of the Year">Rookie of the year. The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 53rd season of NASCAR Cup Series">professional stock car racing in the United States, the 30th modern-era Cup series. It began on February 1 ...

season. After Earnhardt died in an accident at the 2001 Daytona 500, the company continued its sponsorship with his replacement driver Kevin Harvick, through the end of the 2003 season. Sonic returned to NASCAR several years later to sponsor Sam Hornish Jr. and Richard Petty Motorsports in 2015. In 2004, the company became more widely known nationally by advertising in television markets hundreds of miles from its nearest franchise.

Improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

actors T. J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz became known to American television viewers from their "Two Guys" series of commercials. Similar series of ads for the company have featured other duos of improvisational performers, including Molly Erdman and

Brian Huskey Brian Huskey (born September 8, 1968) is an American character actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy programs such as '' People of Earth'', ''Childrens Hospital'', '' Veep'', and '' Another Period''. He also provi ...

, Katie Rich and Sayjal Joshi, and Emily Wilson and

Tim Baltz Tim Baltz is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He appeared as a "citizen journalist" on the Comedy Central series ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper''. He starred on the HBO series ''The Righteous Gemstones''. Early life Born Timothée ...

. In 2010, national auditions were held and a new series of commercials began airing, some of which featured carhops from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. In 2012 the "Two Guys" returned to the company's television ads. In 2018 Sonic supplemented their "Two Guys" commercials with complementary "Two Gals" commercials. The "Two Gals" are played by Ellie Kemper and Jane Krakowski. In 2020, Sonic shifted their "Two Guys" campaign to a new campaign known as "Everyday People" with the same formula but with families instead of guys. Slogans used by Sonic over the years include: * "Service With the Speed of Sound" (1958) * "Happy Eating" (1980s: on signs at many of the company's drive-ins) * "America's Drive-In" (1987) * "Faster and Better than Ever" (1988–1990) * "No Place Hops like Sonic" (1990–1993) * "Summer's Funner" (1993) * "Drive-In for a Change" (1995–1997) * "All Summer Long" (1997) * "It's Sonic Good" (2003-2011) * "Sonic's Got It, Others Don't" (2007) * "Even Sweeter After Dark" (2009) * "This is How You Sonic" (2011–2020) * "Sonic Everywhere" (2016) * "You Guys Wanna Hang Out Sometime" (2016) * “This Is How We Sonic” (2020) * "Mmm. Sonic." (2022) * “Live Free, Eat Sonic” (2024)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonic Companies based in Oklahoma City Restaurants established in 1953 Drive-in restaurants Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Fast-food hamburger restaurants Hot dog restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Oklahoma Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Economy of the Southwestern United States Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Southeastern United States 1953 establishments in Oklahoma 1991 initial public offerings 2018 mergers and acquisitions Inspire Brands