PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SONIC DRIVE-INSonic Drive-in
Restaurants
Founded/ 195 3, Shawnee, Okla.
U.S. units/ 3,593
Cost to open a unit/ 1.07 million to $2.36 million$SONIC’S SIGNATURE drive-in
model seemed to be a liability
in 2017, when Hurricane Har-
vey damaged or closed many
of its 950-plus restaurants in
Texas and pushed same-store
sales down 3.3 percent in
the final fiscal quarter. But
the company was more than
prepared to handle the chal-
lenge. “One of the beautiful
things about our system is
that we have a disaster- relief
fund that our franchises
contribute to,” says senior VP
of franchise relations Eddie
Saroch. “So the recovery
effort is faster and better than
most. The fact that we work
together as a team to get
stores back up and running
means that the business
regains momentum fast.”
Sonic’s sales prove that
out: Despite the natural
disasters, its per-share net
income increased for the
entire fiscal year from $1.29
in 2016 to $1.45 in 2017.
And Saroch’s 2018 forecast
calls for more optimism.
The chain recently cracked
its all-time high of more
than 3,200 franchises, and
is planning big growth
around Washington, D.C.;