Business & Tech

Video: Sonic Opens Doors in Manchester

The Manchester location of the popular drive-in restaurant chain opened its doors for business Wednesday morning; customers swarmed to it soon after.

The cars started coming at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Less than an hour later, they were queued three, four, sometimes even five deep in a neighboring parking lot honking their horns and enthusiastically chanting, “Let’s go, Sonic! Let’s go!”

And then the ribbon was cut on the in Manchester and only the second Connecticut location of the popular fast food chain was officially open for business.

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Those anxious first few dozen would-be Sonic customers didn’t waste too much time descending on the restaurant soon after, and by 11 a.m. Wednesday the small parcel of land on Buckland Street was already swarming with a large crowd of people.

“There may be traffic problems here for the next couple of months, but we’re pleased to have it because it’s bringing people from throughout the region to Manchester to shop here, to eat here,” said Mayor Louis Spadaccini before he helped cut the ribbon that officially opened the restaurant. “So we thank you Sonic for coming.”

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By all indications, it appears as though it’s going to be a busy first few days – or weeks – for the Manchester location.

Robert Mesite, who runs the business operations for the Mesite family, owners of the Sonic of Connecticut franchise, said that the Manchester location was anticipating, and prepared for, a record-breaking first week of business.

“This is probably the best location in all of Manchester. We are right off Ex. 62 of I-84; we get 20,000 cars a day that drive by,” Mesite said. “Manchester itself is a great town. It was a no-brainer to get Sonic here in Manchester.”

Mesite said that his family’s first Connecticut Sonic location, in their hometown of Wallingford, which opened last July, was on pace to set a franchise record for total volume sales by the end of its first year, and that the enthusiasm and excitement for the new Manchester location may have even surpassed the initial Wallingford location.

More than 3,000 people applied for positions at the Manchester location during a recent job fair – Mesite said that the Manchester store has hired 118 employees – while a special “invitation only” event Tuesday that was extended to fans of Sonic of Connecticut’s Facebook page resulted in more than 1,200 new likes and brought more than 1,000 customers on Tuesday alone.

The Manchester Sonic will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Friday, then Mesite said the restaurant will hold a “mega opening” on Saturday where it will remain open from 6 a.m. to “the wee hours of the morning.”

“We hope we’re going to go for the Sonic all-time record” of single day sales, Mesite said of Saturday’s planned event.

Alex Mack, a 20-year old Ellington resident who plans to work at Sonic through the summer as a carhop before heading to Boston in the fall to attend music school, said he was excited to have a job that was the envy of many of his friends and enjoyed the family-friendly, old-fashioned atmosphere at the restaurant.

“It’s a really good community of people, it’s kind of like a family vibe,” Mack said. “Which is weird because not that many fast food restaurants are that friendly.”

But how was the food itself Wednesday?

With the exception of a few mangled orders or confusion about the ordering process that some customers experienced – there is no indoor seating, so customers who ordered in the patio area had to place their orders through a speaker and then wait for a carhop to bring them their food, which caused some communication issues – there seemed to be very few complaints about the actual quality of the food or the restaurant’s service.

Justin Brice, a Manchester resident who smartly avoided traffic issues Wednesday by walking to the opening, said he was “test driving” the restaurant for family and friends. Brice was texting and updating his Facebook status on his cell phone throughout his meal, and said afterwards that he planned to recommend Sonic to others.

“It’s a little weird because there’s no indoor seating, but other than that it’s alright,” Brice said.

Laura Shriel, an East Hartford resident, said that she was missing a dentist appointment for Sonic’s opening, but that it was more than worth it.

“The food is fantastic,” Shriel said. “It’s truly worth it.”

Editor’s Note: Manchester Patch Editor David Moran enjoyed a Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger and fries after the opening Wednesday, washed down with an Ocean Water, and plans to return again to the Manchester Sonic…probably sometime after the crowds die down…


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