Sonic Drive-In

Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as SONIC, is an American drive-in fast-food chain owned by Inspire Brands.
==History==
Following World War II, Sonic founder Troy N. Smith, Sr., returned to his hometown of Seminole, Oklahoma, where he became employed as a milkman. 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 root beer 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 dogs, Smith decided to focus on the more-profitable root beer stand. He bought out his business partner. 
Originally, Top Hat customers parked their automobiles anywhere on the gravel parking lot and walked up to place orders. In Louisiana, 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 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 boys" wire an intercom system in the parking lot. Sales immediately tripled. Charles Woodrow Pappe, an entrepreneur, 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 trademarked, Smith and Pappe changed the name to Sonic 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, standardized menu, or detailed operating requirements were in place. Blackburn, Bob L. (2009). Sonic: The History of America's Drive-in. Oklahoma City, Okla: Cottonwood Publications. 
===1960s - 1990s===
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, Kansas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Arkansas. In 1967, the year Pappe died, the brand had 41 drive-ins.
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, even to this day. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SO007http://www.answers.com/topic/sonic-corporation 
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, 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 and took the company private. The next year, Sonic moved its offices to leased space in downtown Oklahoma City and began to assume a higher profile in the community. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Sonic-Corp-company-History.html 
In 1991, Sonic became a publicly traded 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 1,750 stores in its chain to what was called a "retro-future" look. 
===2000s - 2020s===
Hudson was named chairman of Sonic Corp. in January 2000. https://www.sonicdrivein.com/corporate/executive-team/5747610597982208-J.%20Clifford%20Hudson 
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. 
In October 2004, President Pattye Moore stepped down to spend more time with her family. http://newsok.com/sonic-president-leaving-for-more-family-time/article/2865732 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. https://www.ok.gov/ 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. https://oklahoman.com/article/2879977/sonic-makes-it-easier-for-card-carrying-customers/ In 2007, the company opened its first stores in the Northeastern United States, in Waretown, New Jersey. http://njmonthly.com/articles/restaurants/sonic-boom.html 
In 2009, Sonic partnered with DonorsChoose.org on a collaborative effort, Limeades for Learning, the chain's first systemwide cause marketing 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. https://www.foundation.sonicdrivein.com/https://www.qsrweb.com/news/sonic-moves-into-super-sonic-phase-with-limeade-for-learning-campaign/ 
In September 2009, Omar Janjua joined the company as president of its restaurant operating subsidiary, Sonic Restaurants, Inc. and left in 2015. http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/ViewAttachment.aspx?SiteName=sonicCollateralXML&attachmentid=1bba1255-8fda-4a35-b31e-2c67167c8d7b&attachmenttype=F&entity=PRAsset&entityid=103873https://press.sonicdrivein.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/newsarticle-asset-20090908-10221.pdf 
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. https://web.archive.org/web/20110114181233/http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2010/01/sonic_011510.html 
Craig Miller was hired as chief information officer in January 2012. http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/ViewAttachment.aspx?SiteName=sonicCollateralXML&attachmentid=cf0e19c9-a7b9-46f8-9792-1aba6212a245&attachmenttype=F&entity=PRAsset&entityid=104009 In June 2010, Danielle Vona was hired as chief marketing officer. http://www.rttnews.com/1339598/sonic-appoints-danielle-vona-chief-marketing-officer-quick-facts.aspx 
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. http://adage.com/article/agency-news/sonic-names-goodby-creative-agency-record/148611/http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/ViewAttachment.aspx?SiteName=sonicCollateralXML&attachmentid=7a16dd26-8ceb-47a4-a1b1-f30f184fbc3d&attachmenttype=F&entity=PRAsset&entityid=105223 
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. https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/sonic-unveils-new-drive-design-part-brand-makeover
==Controversy==
===Mass Shooting===
On November 21, 2020, a mass shooting 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. https://omaha.com/news/local/two-people-killed-two-others-wounded-in-bellevue-shooting-one-man-in-custody/article_c03dcafd-f722-5727-bbb8-cb48f74b17ae.html In March 2022, the man pled guilty to all charges filed against him, including murder, attempted murder and arson. https://www.ktiv.com/2022/03/08/man-charged-2020-sonic-shooting-bellevue-pleads-guilty-all-charges/
==Notes==
==References==
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