By Terry Oparka
C & G Staff Writer

TROY — Troy resident Tody Sutherland, 70, and his wife, Emalou, 72, pulled into a parking space at the Sonic, America’s Drive-In at the corner of 14 Mile and John R on opening day, Oct. 21.

And they weren’t alone.

Tody said that he and Emalou, who work as expediting drivers, tried Sonic down South and loved it.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Emalou said.

Sonic general manager and partner Dave Danner said the restaurant was busy when the drive in first opened at 6 a.m. Oct. 21.

Franchise owner Carl Chandler said he and the other franchisees, Ben Cheshire, Robert Middleton and Carl Chandler, decided to open the restaurant after seeing Sonic TV commercials and realizing there were no Sonics in the area.

“It looked like a fun brand,” Chandler said. “The more we learned, the more we liked it.”

The group picked the location in Troy because, “it’s a great corner, and it was empty,” said Cheshire. “Not many concepts would fit here.”

The restaurant is located north of Burger King in front of Oakland Plaza, by Urban Retail Properties, which owns and manages Oakland Mall. TJ Maxx, Golfsmith and Pier 1 are among the retailers at the center.

Variances from the city were needed before the restaurant could open. The franchisees asked the city to allow a canopy 10 feet from the property, rather than the required 25 feet, for a 12-foot-wide driveway on the east side of the building, rather than the required minimum width of 15 feet, and to allow parking spaces to overhang the greenbelt requirement of 10 feet by almost two feet. In addition, the Road Commission for Oakland County approved plans for Urban Retail Properties to construct a deceleration lane on John R, north of 14 Mile.

A Sonic restaurant opened last January in Clinton Township, on Groesbeck, to long lines.

Other Sonics operate in Southgate, Flint and Portage. The franchise first opened as a hamburger and root beer stand in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., as the Top Hat Drive-In, but changed names to Sonic in 1959. There are more than 3,500 across the country.

Sonic specializes in made-to-order fast food, is known for specialty menu items — such as sandwiches served on thick Texas Toast, extra long Coney hotdogs with chili and cheese, frozen fountain drinks and personal carhop service on roller skates.

The carhops “auditioned” for their jobs on roller skates.

“It’s entertainment with girls and guys on skates, festive music and made-to-order food. And there’s 166,000 drink combos,” Cheshire said.

Carhop Sandy Davis, 24, of Southfield said she grew up roller skating. Davis has worked at Olive Garden Italian Restaurant and in catering.  “It’s (roller skating) always been good fun for me, and I get to ride around on skates all day and get paid,” she said. “It’s a cool environment.”

Troy resident David Tackett, 17, agreed. “I like the atmosphere,” he said. “The job in general is fun.”

He said he is working as a carhop at Sonic to raise money for college. He’s skated for 10 years, and used to play street hockey on his in-line skates at Leonard Elementary School in Troy.

The Troy Sonic has 20 drive-in stalls, two patio-ordering stations and a drive-through. Six Sonic traffic guards were on hand to help with the expected lunch rush on opening day, and will be on hand when needed, Cheshire said.

Troy residents Makenzi Haji, 2 1/2, and her caregiver, Nanette Hocking, 49, waited in a stall for the toddler’s order of chicken nuggets and a smoothie. “I would have been here at 6 a.m.,” Hocking said. She said she tried Sonic in Tennessee and loved it.

Clawson resident Connor Winther, 16, and his buddies from Oakland Technical Campus Southeast waited in the drive-through for their orders just before the lunch rush on opening day. 

Winther said he and his friends went to the Sonic on Groesbeck and liked it. “We’ll be back,” he said.

Sonic is located at the northeast corner of 14 Mile and John R. The drive-through is open 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. A full menu, including a breakfast burrito, is available all day.

Staff Writer Heidi Roman contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Terry Oparka at toparka@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1054.