Please explain Sonic Restaurant to me

[Gumbo4x4]

You, and the head of Mercedes Benz who fought putting cupholders in Mercedes cars. He made no bones about not understanding why Americans don't stop, get out of their car, go in a coffee shop, sit and drink their coffee, then resume driving.

Well yeah, but that has more to do with them driving 150 MPH on the Autobahn

 

[snarlingcoyote]

You, and the head of Mercedes Benz who fought putting cupholders in Mercedes cars. He made no bones about not understanding why Americans don't stop, get out of their car, go in a coffee shop, sit and drink their coffee, then resume driving.

He's probably like the parents of a German exchange student I was friends with in HS who thought they could drive from Louisiana to DC in a half-day.

No sense of the scale of North America and just how flippin' long it takes to drive anywhere.

 

[Imzadi]

Its a drivie-in place. You either order from your car and have your order brought to your car or you can order at a central place and sit at a picnic table.

When they bring the food to your car, are you supposed to tip the waitress? I wondered after I drove off if I should have?

 

[Southernmiss]

When they bring the food to your car, are you supposed to tip the waitress? I wondered after I drove off if I should have?

Yes. I tip $.50 to $1 depending on my order.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I've never been to Sonic but from the looks of it, I don't understand why I would want to go in the Summer. Eating in the car doesn't appeal to me and I wouldn't want to leave my car running with the AC on.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I've never been to Sonic but from the looks of it, I don't understand why I would want to go in the Summer. Eating in the car doesn't appeal to me and I wouldn't want to leave my car running with the AC on.

Do you ever go through the drive-through at other FF places? No different really other than the fact you COULD stay there to eat in your car, or just go back home/to work/to school like with any other drive-through

 

[freckles04]

We do have one Sonic here that has an indoor, AC eating area. You can tell the difference easily though, because it's obviously bigger than the other Sonics.

As for tipping, maybe it varies by location, but I know for a fact the carhops here make at least minimum wage (unlike servers here who make $2.13/hr), so no, I do not tip them. In fact, it's difficult to tip them anymore, because the credit/debit card readers don't have an option to add a tip (at least not where I live) and I typically don't carry cash or change.

Personally, I really enjoy their grilled cheese. YUM! It's a good quick lunch on the go.

 

[WDWBarb]

Their slushies (or whatever they call them there) are great, but give you brain freeze like no other! I went to a drive thru to get a drink while on my way to a business meeting and saw it on the menu and gave it a try. As I drove off, I thought I was going to die behind the wheel. Seriously. Searing pain in my head and chest that lasted a few minutes. Thankfully I was able to pull over. I warned my DH the first time he ordered one and told him I wouldn't let him pull out of the parking slip until he tried it. He was in agony instantly. I don't know what it is about 'em, but wow. I researched it on the Internet and couldn't find out the answer to that question, but other mega brain freeze sufferers (apparently its a common thing) suggested tiny sips and keep the ice away from the roof of your mouth. That helps some. Just be careful until you know if you're going to have the same reaction.

 

[tvguy]

He's probably like the parents of a German exchange student I was friends with in HS who thought they could drive from Louisiana to DC in a half-day.

No sense of the scale of North America and just how flippin' long it takes to drive anywhere.

If you drive the 150 mph Gumbo4x4 mentioned, you can make it to DC from Louisiana in about 6 hours.

 

[Bob NC]

As for tipping, maybe it varies by location, but I know for a fact the carhops here make at least minimum wage (unlike servers here who make $2.13/hr), so no, I do not tip them. In fact, it's difficult to tip them anymore, because the credit/debit card readers don't have an option to add a tip (at least not where I live) and I typically don't carry cash or change.

Oh good. The more reasons not to tip the better.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Do you ever go through the drive-through at other FF places? No different really other than the fact you COULD stay there to eat in your car, or just go back home/to work/to school like with any other drive-through

Nope, we don't go through drive-thrus.

 

[ols386]

The Sonic near me does have tables inside, and if you go inside, you order at the counter and then you can sit and eat at an inside table.

They also have spots to pull-in and order from a speaker box at the parking spot.

They also have a drive-thru where you can order, and then you just pull up to the window and pick up your food.

I love their strawberry milk shakes.

 

[MSSANDRA]

There are tons of Sonics in the South. We have one just a few minutes from our home. We find their burgers pretty good, hot dogs, ok and their fried items greasy. The ice cream has in the last year been switched to "real" ice cream. Not sure what it was before???? It's ok and pretty much on par with McDonalds soft serve, but we find it a little bit high in cost for the quality. LOVE, the Cherry-Lime-Aids. Lots of specials and coupons can make it a low cost choice.
Ours has a drive through,outside tables and pull in bays and a fairly nice playground. We do have one about an hour away that has a dine inside option.
We eat at ours more that we normally would just because it is very close to the base ball field and sometimes we just need to grab DS something before or after a game or need a drink. We try to avoid all fast food but this one does happen sometimes. If we have cash, we tell the hop to keep the change but rarely tip when we use the card.

 

[mjantz]

Best tater tots IMO. As others have said, tons of drink choices. I love the diet green tea with raspberry. Usually from 2-4pm it's 1/2 price fountain drinks & slushies.
I like their drinks but their food is a bit too heavy for me.

 

[bcla]

The Sonic near me does have tables inside, and if you go inside, you order at the counter and then you can sit and eat at an inside table.

They also have spots to pull-in and order from a speaker box at the parking spot.

They also have a drive-thru where you can order, and then you just pull up to the window and pick up your food.

I love their strawberry milk shakes.

The only Sonic location I'd ever been to where one ordered at a counter was in Roseville, California. It was actually one of those restaurants combined with a gas station. They had a drive-thru window but no drive-in service. As far as I could tell, this location was temporary until the franchise owner could complete a standard location around a strip mall.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-roseville

The new location is also really odd. The first time I went there I had a hard time finding the familiar Sonic sign. I think they weren't allowed to put up a big multi-colored sign and only have the name.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-drive-in-roseville

 

[maslex]

Op here.

Well, I went to Sonic for lunch today to try the Pretzel hot dog. It was just okay. Thought it was going to be better but it filled the empty hole. I got it with the mozz sticks. While I've had much better they were also just okay. The one that I did go to did have a drive through and that's what I used. It was weird (not sure if this is normal or not) but after placing my order, I drove up to behind a truck waiting to pay at the window. A few minutes later a worker comes out and says, "that'll be $7.19" So I give him the money and he comes out a minute later with my drink and bag of food. He says, "I'll be back with your change" I was like okaaaayyyyy. Then he comes back out and tells me that I have the wrong bag, he said he gave me a chicken sandwich instead. So I give him the bag, keep my soda and off he went again. He FINALLY comes out and says to me, "You have the shake right?" and I tell him that I already have my drink, I ordered a Sprite. I'm thinking this wasn't his day. LOL Then he says, "Okay, so this bag is yours (has my mozz sticks) and hands me my hot dog, receipt and change. Good to go. I drive off (all the while the truck in front of me is STILL at the window waiting for his lunch) go park and look at the reciept. He gave me the receipt for the chicken sandwich and THAT guy's change not mine!!! ARRGHH!!! I got the short end of the change (only like 30 cents or something) so I was NOT about to go in and get in fixed. This place is about an hour away from my home, so I know I probably won't be at a Sonic anytime soon. LOL

 

[tvguy]

The only Sonic location I'd ever been to where one ordered at a counter was in Roseville, California. It was actually one of those restaurants combined with a gas station. They had a drive-thru window but no drive-in service. As far as I could tell, this location was temporary until the franchise owner could complete a standard location around a strip mall.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-roseville

The new location is also really odd. The first time I went there I had a hard time finding the familiar Sonic sign. I think they weren't allowed to put up a big multi-colored sign and only have the name.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-drive-in-roseville

Been there. Yelp says it is closed, and there is a new one on the West side of the Roseville Galleria. Traffic is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad on Highway 65, almost better to go twice as far to the one in Woodland.

 

[bcla]

Been there. Yelp says it is closed, and there is a new one on the West side of the Roseville Galleria. Traffic is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad on Highway 65, almost better to go twice as far to the one in Woodland.

The whole area built around the Roseville Galleria does have an unfinished feel to it. Once I stayed at the Hyatt Place there, which is nice enough, but there's a dead end on Conference Center Drive and apparently no "conference center". There's still lots of undeveloped land between all the housing, office buildings, and retail/lodging. If you zoom in close enough with the current satellite view on Google Maps, the Hyatt Place turns from completed to when it was still under construction. A foundation was laid down, but currently it looks like it was covered up and there's a big plot of dirt.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=sonic...777741,-121.271907&fspn=0.00359,0.005273&z=18

If anything, it sound like how a summer intern at work described Dallas and other big cities in Texas. Land is cheap and it's easy enough to get a building permit. He said there were lots of plots of land that weren't developed in between all the land that is.

So I looked up what happened. It was obviously construction that must have ceased. Apparently the City of Roseville is taking proposals - and they're intent on building a conference center and hotel.

http://www.roseville.ca.us/ed/hotel_conference_center_project.asp
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen...lle-bid-conference-center-hotel.html?page=all

The last attempt by Roseville to get a hotel conference center was in 2005 with Roseville developer Abe Alizadeh and his Kobra Properties.

That development got only as far as some foundation work in 2006 before all work stopped as Alizadeh’s development company ran into cash problems. Alizadeh’s Kobra Properties filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2008.

Alizadeh paid $12 million for 20 acres in 2005. With the help of Sacramento’s Fulcrum Property Corp., the city bought the land for $1.9 million in January from the bank that had foreclosed on it.

 

[tvguy]

The whole area built around the Roseville Galleria does have an unfinished feel to it. Once I stayed at the Hyatt Place there, which is nice enough, but there's a dead end on Conference Center Drive and apparently no "conference center". There's still lots of undeveloped land between all the housing, office buildings, and retail/lodging. If you zoom in close enough with the current satellite view on Google Maps, the Hyatt Place turns from completed to when it was still under construction. A foundation was laid down, but currently it looks like it was covered up and there's a big plot of dirt.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=sonic...777741,-121.271907&fspn=0.00359,0.005273&z=18

If anything, it sound like how a summer intern at work described Dallas and other big cities in Texas. Land is cheap and it's easy enough to get a building permit. He said there were lots of plots of land that weren't developed in between all the land that is.

So I looked up what happened. It was obviously construction that must have ceased. Apparently the City of Roseville is taking proposals - and they're intent on building a conference center and hotel.

http://www.roseville.ca.us/ed/hotel_conference_center_project.asp
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen...lle-bid-conference-center-hotel.html?page=all

Yeah, Abe Alizadeh owned the Burger King down the street from me, one of the 70 he closed. And of course he owned a couple o the TGI Fridays here. They closed too.