Sonic 2003 Annual Report Download - page 8

The year was 1953, and life in
America was squarely in the fast lane.
By then, the automobile had secured its
place as an icon for a mobile American
lifestyle, and a radical new sports car
introduced by General Motors that
year, the Corvette, was accelerating our
freedom. Moreover, our post-war
society had begun to display new
demographic trends that would, as we
all know, reshape the restaurant
industry in this country. Increasing
numbers of dual-income households,
and the constraints that placed on
family leisure, provided further
momentum to new mealtime venues.
The advent of these quick-service
restaurants, as they would become
known, transformed both the industry
and our way of life.
The Corvette wasn’t the only classic
that originated in 1953. In Shawnee,
Oklahoma, a small root beer stand
called the Top Hat Drive-In opened to
little fanfare, but it too was destined
for the history books. Top Hat’s
founder, Troy Smith, was a quick study
of early innovations in the fledgling drive-in business. His drive-ins soon featured
advances like intercom communications – inspiring the slogan “Service at the Speed of
Sound,” canopy covers, and slanted parking spaces. By 1959, the Top Hat would become
Sonic, a name chosen in deference to the public’s fascination with emerging space-age
technology, jet travel and Sonic’s slogan, which echoed the excitement of the time.
Early in its history, Sonic found itself at the crossroads of this changing American
culture. New industry drivers for quick service – America’s obsession with mobility, its
demand for convenience, and the country’s yearning for new taste sensations – all found
a home at Sonic, America’s Drive-In.
Over the course of the next 50 years, Sonic grew to become the largest chain of drive-in
restaurants in the country and one of the biggest brands in QSR. Our reach now extends to
Total Teamwork
In franchising, you think of ordinary folks
who have their lives and livelihood on the line.
Frankly, we like the drive and determination this
fosters among our franchisees, and their passion
for the Sonic brand, and we want to maintain
the same keen entrepreneurial edge in our
company-owned drive-ins. In our view, the best
way to do this is to make sure the partners who
operate and supervise our company-owned
drive-ins – almost 500 of them at August 31,
2003 – have a significant vested interest in the
ownership of these drive-ins, and the
opportunity to participate in their success.
Then, Now, Next
Then, Now, Next
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