Save room for French toast sticks, breakfast burritos and croissant sandwiches. As we reported Tuesday, Sonic Drive-In in Wallingford, the first in Connecticut, is set to open to the public Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled at 10 a.m. with several local dignitaries and business leaders as guests.
Pictures: Sonic Opens In Connecticut
Read also: "State's First Sonic Restaurant Opens Wednesday In Wallingford" by Janice Podsada
Sonic held a soft opening for its supporters Tuesday afternoon, sending out a secretive email blast to its "TIFOS" (The Incredible Fans of Sonic.) A La Carte made the trip to check it out. Here's why you should be excited that Sonic has finally made inroads into the state of Connecticut:
The carhop system. Sure, you can hit the drive-through if you're in a rush, or take a seat on the 60-person outdoor patio. But if you've got some time to spare, pull into one of the personal stalls and push the button to place your order. Within minutes, a friendly, roller-skating carhop brings the food directly to your vehicle.
Don't worry about your burgers and shakes ending up on the ground - excellent skating ability is a requirement for the job, said franchise partner Robert Mesite.
The drinks. We're not quite sure who was tasked with calculating this mathematical figure, but Sonic says it's possible to make 168,894 combinations with its drink offerings - sodas, juices, lemonades, teas, slushes with flavored syrups, smoothies, coffees, milkshakes and more. We tried the cherry limeade, which would have been even more heavenly on a 100-degree day.
The menu's variety. Sure, you can get a burger at any number of fast-food joints, but Sonic's also got Coneys and corn dogs, chili-cheese tater tots, big burgers on thick-sliced Texas toast (like the Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster sandwich, pictured), grilled cheese sandwiches and popcorn chicken. If you're going healthier, there' are salads with low-cal and fat-free dressing; grilled chicken; and fresh fruit.
Breakfast whenever you want it. Here's the best news of all: the entire menu is available for the entire day. No 10:30 or 11 a.m. cutoff for the "morning meals."
The jobs it's brought to Wallingford - and will soon bring to other areas. According to business reporter Janice Podsada's story, 130 full- and part-time employees were hired to work at the Wallingford Sonic location. Mesite and his franchise partners, sister Gina Mesite-Mueller and brother Ralph Mesite, plan to open at least eight Sonics across the state in the next few years. Their second location, on Buckland Street in Manchester, was approved by the town last week and is scheduled to open this fall. Tentative future locations include Milford or Orange, Enfield, Berlin, New Haven and Southington.
When you see a late-night Sonic commercial, you can fulfill your craving. Admit it, you've been taunted by those incredible-looking slushes and cream-pie shakes for more than two years now. Now, they're actually within your reach. "A lot of people have been to Sonic; just not here in Connecticut," said Mesite. "And they loved it." Just ask the more than 21,500 Facebook fans.
Sonic will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until August 1, when it begins its regular operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight, Mesite said. The drive-in is located at 1033 North Colony Road (Rt. 5) in Wallingford. More information is at sonicofct.com.
(Photo credit: Nick Caito / ctnow.com)
I have been living in North Carolina for 17.5 years, and hve been enjoying SONIC for many of those years. What a great drive-in to gain a foot hold in the north. Remember to tip the car hops if they are wearing roller skates, down here they gey paid mor for useing skates, so I figure they are trying harder, they deserve more $$$
ENJOY.....
Bring me a Jack & the Box and THEN I'll get excited.
Sonic really likes mustard. They're heavy handed with the mustard. That was my experience in SC & FL last year. Other than that they're very good.
It would be nice if we saw a Checkers/Rallys & Hardees in CT too. Down south, McDonalds/Burger King/Wendys are facing enormous competition for the fast food buck.
Even Captain D's would be a nice option as well as CHIK-FIL-A.
I'm glad that Popeye's has opened in New London. Their red beans & rice are Louisiana heaven.
Been to Sonic down South. Bland, typical fast food, except at higher prices. Pass.
Is this a story or and advertisement? We should get excited over a restaurant opening? Seriously?
Good Lord, we're screwed as a society. Stick, fork, done, etc......
Dont forget another reason to be excited. Another reason to eat fast food and add to the obesity. Cant wait.
We sampled Sonic last year while driving to Florida. Could not have been more disapointed with the food. We are a family of four who all like different thigs so we sampled the burgers, dogs, chicken,fries, shakes and other items. Not one of us finished our meal. Granted, quality can vary from restaruant to restaurant within a chain and even from day to day or shift to shift, so it's possible that we just went at the wrong time or to a poor location. I'll likely give them a second try at some point, but I'm not expecting much from them.
As for the 130 full and part-time jobs, why did the reporter go into detail about the breakdown of full and part-time? My guess is that almost all of those jobs will be part-time with low pay and little or no benefits. So let's not laude the Mesite family too much, after all they will likely be making a small fortune by pushing more salt, sugar and fat upon an already obese Connecticut, while paying their employeees an hourly wage that after taxes barely covers the cost of one of their value meals.
In my experience, Connecticut has been rather backward in the uptake of fast food restaurants. When I lived in Manchester, there were mom-and-pop fast food joints, but the major chains just weren't there (we're talking the '60s). When I moved to Illinois to go to school, the world of fast food suddenly opened up to me--McDonald's, Arby's, and a bunch of others I've forgotten. So the opening of Sonic in CT is just another step on the road to fast food equality. . . Nutmeggers are too thin anyway. (By the way, there was a Hardee's in Manchester years ago.)
Typical disgusting, greasy fast food. How can Americans eat like this? Our country has no taste in anything.
Fast food restaurants do nothing but contribute to health problems. We'll be paying for these people who are "fast food connoisseurs" thanks to Barack Obama's health care plan.
They do nothing but contribute to litter, when scumbag white trash stoners throw their wrappers, bags and cups out the car window.
The amount of waste and paper products generated by the packaging at the restaurant and shipping the generic ingredients to the stores is outlandish.
And what kind of jobs did they create? Minimum wage? So great, you're either going to higher high school students or people who will be "working poor" so that the state has to subsidize their healthcare and child care needs (aka, us, by higher taxes).
And they try to offer "healthy options" like a salad? I can get a salad anywhere. Fresh fruit? I can go buy an apple at the grocery store.
Anybody who gorges themselves with sodas, high-sugar slushies and stuffs their fat goofy face with corn dogs, chili-cheese tator tots, burgers and fried chicken is a gross, disgusting person with no taste.
I can't believe Americans spend $110 billion on this crap annually. I know a mother who feeds her kid nothing but McDonalds - he went from a normal healthy 10 year old to being morbidly obese and out of shape. It's disgusting.
Nothing but salt, high fructose corn syrup, excessive chemicals and artificial flavors and colors all handled and made buy disgusting people who don't wash their hands and are too stupid to work in any other industry.
Excited? No. Disgusted by yet another fast food restaurant polluting the American landscape? You bet.
To all you health nut whiners, simple solution....DON'T GO THERE! Nobody cares what you think. Maybe if a Tofu restaurant opens up you'll be happy. You talk about obese kids...that's called parental responsibility. You anti-business people just kill me.
Anti-Business? Just what kind of business are you supporting here? One that puts out a crap quality product for people with no taste. Like Hyundai. Or Ed Hardy.
I support and encourage businesses that actually make a good product. I encourage new dining restaurants that actually serve good, quality food.
But I also boycott business that sell or make lame, crappy and low quality products.
And P.S. "PJ"... It's pathetic when I have to go out of my way to find something tasty, good and healthy to eat that doesn't leave me feeling like crap because our country has become nothing but fast food restaurants and generic chains all serving the same standardized staples of fried foods, burgers and fries.
I'll admit I eat Fast Food from time to time - but avoid it because I notice the way it makes me feel. If you eat healthy, you feel good. If you eat like crap, you become one of those lazy sluggish Americans who's too slow and lazy to do anything and whos life consists of working at a job they hate until they get to go home and spend the next 8 hours in front of the television being bombarded with more advertisements to buy more fast food.
But as long as you're happy driving your crappy car with the greasy steering wheel and McDonalds wrappers on the floor to the drive thru because you're too lazy to get out as you're dressed in your crappy clothes with no eye for style on the way to Walmart to buy a fresh pair of gray tube socks for your date at TGI Fridays with a fat chick you met on Craigslist; to each his own.
Posting foam-at-the-mouth ranting diatribes doesn't help your cause.
Can't wait. This is all CT needed. I'm going to have my first Sonic drive-thru right now! All I've seen was great commercials for this, and now all I have to do it drive across town for it! YES!
Hopefully their frozen treats don't melt as hard or as fast as YUCK just did
Sonic is a fav of ours and we know the folks in CT will love it! Cherry limeade is sooo good on a hot day. ENJOY!
PJ has it right.....welcome "SONIC" can't wait to enjoy the great food in moderation....if you or your kids are fat, then eat salad at home and leave the rest of us that exercise and control our weight alone....
IMO, Sonic's food is the lowest quality and the most expensive of any fast food chain. Try it for yourself of course, but keep the expectations low from a company whose commercials are shot with a home camcorder.
I'll never go there. They only serve a bunch of fast food crap that is just plain bad for you. I agree with YUCK and I will follow PJ's advice, I will never go to one. Based on the comments from people here who have actually eaten Sonic's poor excuse for food, who would want to go there?
If you want burgers and ice cream, go to Shady Glen in Manchester. Why can't the dweebs at the Hartford Courant get this excited about promoting a place like Shady Glen? They were just featured on the Food Network last week for their incredible cheese burgers which run circles around the trash that Sonic puts out.
We need a Sonic in CT like we need a hole in the head. Remember Krispy Kreme??
Oh yeah and we continue to build strip malls, lousy retail stores and restaurents that WE DON'T NEED. How about leaving some friggin green space for once?!?! There are plenty of existing building space that is unused because those retailers went out of business and they can't fill the leases.
>We should get excited over a restaurant opening? Seriously?
NO!
We should get excited because it's another national chain restaurant opening up that spends more thought, time, and probably cash on it's marketing efforts then the actual substances with food-like qualities that they serve to customers.
Yeah, the meat is greasy, low grade...but if we slap enough corn sweeteners on top people will never notice!
It's not that I never eat fast food...I had a McDouble or whatever that $1 burger is yesterday partly because I wanted a snack and partly I used their restroom while on the road yesterday (already had a bottle of water I was drinking in the truck). But let's admit the obvious folks -- this isn't about good food. It's about food served with enough glop that it triggers your taste buds as long as you don't ponder it or try to savor it.
I can make far better burgers at home, for less money with careful shopping, then these franchises. You know, burgers that the flavors actually stay around in your mouth to savor...not something that gives the impression of salted meat for a second before it's overcome by the sweet ketchup or tart mustard so you don't have time to think about just how crappy that meat paddy was.
Looks like "YUCK" had his 15 minutes of shame...only one thing to say to him ... "YUCK"
~signed - Skinny one
P.S. are you the fat guy on match.com that spews the same bologna there....whoops, that's right you don't eat bologna....
If you enjoy Sonic food ... frequent the establishment. If you don't ... avoid the place. Each to his/her own.
I would, however, like to offer Mr. Mesite & his family partners a piece of advice: when any pictures are used to advertise a product (in your case. food), they should elicit a positive, 'mouth-watering' response from the recipient. Unfortunately; after viewing this article's photos (#s: 4, 8, 9 & 13), the only feeling I have is one of nausea.
To you I say - good luck with your business venture. Seriously.
To those of you that enjoy Sonic food - Bon Appetit.
I am one who can't wait for Sonic to come to town. I will agree food I pass on, I'm just thrilled for the slushies. And even for those health nuts, everyone has to live a little once in a while. Nobody plans to hit up Sonic 3 times a day, everyday, all week long - or they would be obese!
Ate at our first Sonic in Morgantown, WV this summer. It was horrible! The onion rings were so drenched in oil that no one - not one of eight of us - could eat them. The burger on Texas Toast was bland and the bread was over-toasted. Basically, for burgers, Burger King has them beat - hands down.
Why is the opening of a low-quality, high-calorie fast food restaurant and its 130 mostly low paying jobs a reason to celebrate???
The people on here raving about Popeye's or other low-brow junk food are amazing - don't people have taste anymore??? What about an interest in quality food? Why can't the court write about the opening of a high-end restaurant?
Further, the jobs line is a sign of the time for CT....you know things are rough when fast food jobs are an economic success.
What a depressing article.
I would be excited about In and Out-
How is this front page news?
I suppose now their gonna pipe country music with its political and religious agenda (country music is close to godliness) over the speakers? yeah, make some more slaves for the system, huh? don't get me wrong I used to play it on the radio. So, we can sell more V8 pickups trucks, increase the population and illiteracy, this is not for just white folks neither...there's a new breed come up, too!!!...
SO here;s the nutritional guide to what would be consumed during a typical visit. Obesity aside, should we really be encouraging the consumption of so much Nutritionally Absent, Garbage laden foods?
Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster Sandwich
Calories 690Calories from Fat 333
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37.0g57%
Saturated Fat 14.0g70%
Cholesterol 90mg30%
Sodium 1410mg59%
Total Carbohydrates 58.0g19%
Dietary Fiber 3.0g12%
Sugars 13.0g
Protein 31.0g
NUTRITIONAL GRADE D+
French Fries
Amount Per Serving
Calories 380Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18.0g28%
Saturated Fat 3.5g17%
Sodium 470mg20%
Total Carbohydrates 50.0g17%
Dietary Fiber 7.0g28%
Sugars 1.0g
Protein 5.0g
NUTRITIONAL GRADE C
Medium Chery Limeade
Amount Per Serving
Calories 220
% Daily Value*
Sodium 45mg2%
Total Carbohydrates 59.0g20%
Sugars 57.0g
TOTALS For one meal
Calories: 1290
Calories from fat: 495
Sodium: 1925 (YIKES!!)
Ok, Defend.
Great.
Like the corpulent, minivan driving mouth-breathing soccer moms of CT NEED more high calorie food choices.
We've eaten at Sonic in other states. Not a big fan of the food at all.
Having seen Sonic commercials for years, I can't believe anyone in Connecticut would be excited about Sonic except for Weight Watchers and cardiac surgeons. There food is primarly high fat and high calorie with very limited nutritional value. What's more, they advertize the worst nutritional foods from their menu, not that there is much that is nutritious. Sonic is a dinosaur of the fast food industry and needs to get with the times and develop a social consciousness.
There is a much better drive in right in Mansfield Ct. It has been there since the 50s and still plays 50s music and commercials. The only changes made in all those years are the use of radio instead of speakers and there is now 3 screens instead of 1. So if you want real nastalgia, head to Mansfield Ct!
I LOVE how the picture is of some idiot in his idiotic Hummer (or Humvee or H2 or whatever piece of junk it is) going to go wait in line to buy processed ground beef and corn fillers. god bless the USA!
(I also love how the "dieters" here profess love for the 220 calorie, 45 mg of salt Cherry-Limeade. Too funny.
I hate to rain on people's parade, but that's 130 minimum wage, part time jobs that have been brought to Connecticut. Yipee for us. Aren't we fortunate.
Sonic is overrated - its all about getting people in the door for a gimmick...the food though is typical fast food - not very good and not very good for you. Save up a few extra bucks and treat yourself to something nice.
Yuck, more fat people.
I've never been a big fan of most of their food. New Mexico Sonics make a mean green chile cheeseburger, but most of their food kinda sucks. BUT, do yourself a favor and try one of their cherry limeades. Amazing.
If there were a few negative comments, I wouldn't smell a concentrated effort to crap on this business but so many makes me wonder. Could we have some BurgerK folks or McD's people or...who knows and who cares...your envy is very obvious. Nutmeggers you will enjoy. For those who made nasty comments...follow the lines to Sonic! Oh, do try the peanut butter milkshake...YUMMO!
It's really sad to see this replace the Yankee Silversmith, but I guess I shouldn't be complaining about economic activity in Wallingford.
Mister Yuck summed it up best: "But as long as you're happy driving your crappy car with the greasy steering wheel and McDonalds wrappers on the floor to the drive thru because you're too lazy to get out as you're dressed in your crappy clothes with no eye for style on the way to Walmart to buy a fresh pair of gray tube socks for your date at TGI Fridays with a fat chick you met on Craigslist; to each his own." Sheer poetry. In reality I find it quite trying to find gray tube socks. Thankfully my fat chick is a talented knitter, so my belly button lint and leftover dental floss footwear always looks good when I wear my green Crocs to the opera.
Just a reminder.....
Don't forget what happened to Krispy Kreme
I'd like to know why this is front page news.
And why the local news last night led off with this story.
And what Sonic did to get the local "dignitaries" to come to the opening. (campaign donations?) A real news story should tell us.
And why the Courant and "local dignitaries" push us to chains at the expense of local business.
Aside from the food and the environmental damage caused by its production, the political implications are even worse.
Wow, all you nanny staters kill me. Bottom line, if you like that stuff eat it...if you don't go somewhere else. It's a free country (for a while longer, anyway).
DShells: My negative comments are directed toward all fast food, including BK, McDonalds and Sonic. Wendy's too.
And pretty much any lame chain restaurant, like TGI Friday's or Ruby Tuesdays.
I'd rather support a local business, that actually makes fresh food on the spot, from local farmers when possible - not frozen pre-packed generic junk loaded with sodium, fat, carbs and preservatives. You should try dining at an actually good restaurant, at least once, then maybe you'll realize how substandard fast "food" is.
I'd rather eat a real cut of fish, not some nasty processed "fish sandwich" with fillers and junk from McDonalds.
And just how many restaurants does America need that serve tater tots and french fries?
If I want a burger, I'll stop at somewhere like Louis Lunch or Max Burger, where the meat is actually real, fresh and tasty - not nasty patties that are 2mm thick to maximize profit margin and soaked in ketchup to mask how nasty it tastes, and loaded with MSG to make you tired, more hungry and to "enhance the flavor" of their nasty food.
Yes @PJ, the restaurant certainly has a right to operate as a business in a free country - but without a market, they would cease to exist. The people with no taste or health concerns are supporting this type of crap and causing it to expand, which makes the market more saturated with this junk, which means even more people eat there and get fat. A collective of fat slobs dragging down our entire society which ultimately effects us all when we either have to get paid for their health care, or get stuck behind them as they waddle through the mall because they're too slow and fat to move from years or feeding at the fast food troughs.
I don't eat at fast food restaurants much, maybe a few times per year. I prefer making my own food at home with fresher ingredients; it is cheaper, better, and much healthier. I can make a better burger, hot dog, or anything these fast food places make. When I do go out I generally will eat some place with genuine food and I usually have no trouble finding a place pretty much anywhere. As a parent of two teenagers I take pride in the fact that I have been able to steer them away from fast food and toward healthy food. Both of my kids would prefer a salad for lunch than any of this processed food.
However, if people out there like eating at these places like Sonic, that's fine by me, who am I to judge what other people eat or where? It's their lives and they should be able to eat what they choose, whether I believe it's healthy or not for them to do so is not the point. That's what makes this country great, we have all these choices in life. If you don't like the food at Sonic and other fast food businesses, avoid it like I do. No need to bash those that choose to eat there. That's one thing I can't stand, people trying to force their ideals onto others. Why would it bother someone so much that someone else choses to eat at a Sonic?
Also, not really sure how the two are connected, but if you do some research you will find that Hyundai now makes cars of quality comparable to or higher than all American companies except Ford, and higher than most European brands too. Used to be they made some crappy cars back in the day but no so any more. In fact, they now make cars that are of decent quality as well as affordable. Again, who are we to judge what people drive? And no, I don't drive a Hyundai either, but don't judge those who do.
Maybe the world would be a better place with fast food restaurants. But it would also be a better place without people trying to tell others how to live and force their ideals on them.
Yuck, I'm with you! You are right on point, and well said at that.
Too many people in this country have their priorities mixed up. Marketing these days is designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. And almost never is it taste, intellegence, healthy living, or improving the world around us. It's just sad that there are so many people that are not even smart enough to realize what all this "junk" is really doing to them. Years later it will ne "poor me, I don't know why I have high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and have to take a hand full of pills every day to stay alive."
Wake up people, educate yourself, look around. Does any of the stuff they sell at these corporate poison factories even remotely look like what GOD put on this earth for us to eat/enjoy?
I can't believe the comments being made, puttind down fast food,wages, benifits, obesity. first fast food don't make you fat,over eating and inactivity make you fat, and someone commented on obama's health plan. geez get a life it's just a burger, what does obama own stock in sonic lol, have a burger and move on.
My god, some people on here really need to lighten up a little. I agree that there are people that rely on fast food restaurants too often but if someone makes the occasional trip that's their prerogative. I think there are more constructive ways to get your point across than to rant like a lunatic. Yuck, please, you sound like a complete snob. How do you go from being upset about the unhealthiness of fast food to ranking on people who can't afford expensive cars and designer clothing? Get over yourself. Maybe you could take all that energy and do something more positive with it. There aren't a lot of options for getting fresh vegetables in cities. Why don't you go volunteer and start a vegetable garden in the inner city? You can teach kids about making more nutritious choices. Unfortunately you may have to work side by side with someone who drives a Hyundai and is wearing WalMart tube socks
Sonic is nothing new to Ct. remember tne Sesme car hop on the Berlin T pike It went the way of Kripsy KREME.iF THIS IS STATEWIDE NEWS I HAVE A BRIDGE FOR SALE.
I was all excited that Sonic came to CT but its just not worth it after my first visit. The same meal I got down at a Sonic in South Carolina was 5.25. Here it was 8.05! Not much value I'm afraid. I could chow down at Wendy's--higher quality food--for that.