The country’s largest drive-in restaurant chain has landed in Pittsburgh. Southwestern Pennsylvania’s first
SONIC is now under construction at 2611 Washington Rd. in
North Strabane.
The Washington County site is the first of 16 area SONIC restaurants planned by NCH Hospitality, a franchise holder spearheaded by
Kings Family Restaurants founder Hartley King, along with partners Nick Hrehovchak and Chris Whalen.
NCH, who purchased the Rte. 19 property two years ago, plans to open SONIC locations in Greene, Indiana, Allegheny, and Westmorland Counties. A groundbreaking for NCH’s Uniontown SONIC took place on September 24th; a
Pittsburgh Mills location will open this year. The closest SONIC to Pittsburgh is located in Athens, Ohio.
“It’s a whole experience with carhops on rollerskates. It’s a throwback, not just a drive-through,” says Shannon Baker with
WordWrite Communications, who adds that SONIC has introduced healthy selections to its menu. “Hartley King sees SONIC as a good fit for western Pennsylvania. It’s a fun, family-friendly environment with quality food.”
Texas-based
DTM Architects is designing the new 1,800 square-foot restaurant. Contractor is Pittsburgh-based
FLYNN Construction. The North Strabane SONIC, which costs $1.2 million to start up, is expected to open on December 10th. The chain expects to employ one hundred people at each of its 16 locations.
Boasting a beverage bar with 168,000 combinations, SONIC is known for its hand-battered onion rings and Toaster sandwiches. Founded as a hamburger and root beer stand in 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, SONIC operates more than 3,200 locations in the U.S. and Mexico. In 2007, SONIC was named No. 1 burger franchise by
Entrepreneur Magazine.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Shannon Baker, WordWrite Communications LLC
Image courtesy of SONIC