Blog
Few things can get me up at 4:00am, but the
first Sonic in Michigan is on that list. Arriving at 5:15am, I was not sure what to expect. Would I be the only nut waiting or would it be swarming with raving mad Sonic fans? To my relief, there were only 20 some odd people waiting, some of which told me they had been there since 11:30 the previous night. Roughly half were drunk, and the other half had Sonic fever fueling the various dances, songs and chants that took place while we waited for the 6:00am opening time. Channel 4 news eventually showed up and captured the crazies (myself included) for all Michigan to see. As the time grew closer we jumped in our cars and waited for the barricades to be removed. Within minutes all 20 car hop stalls were filled with the blinking red "Order Here" light and Sonic fans sobering up to the fact that what was once at least 7 hours away is now in their own backyard. As I waited for my light to go dark, indicating it was my time to order, I chatted with the owner who promised the Canton location would be breaking ground in the next few weeks. At 6:24am my light finally went dark and my food was on it's way. Later that night, Lisa and I were joined by
the Kelleys for dinner at the new Sonic. On arrival we were greeted with a warning that a 2 hour wait was in store for us if we chose the "Full Service" (car hop) option. With two Sonic virgins in the car the choice was obvious and we began our 2 hour wait. 2.5 hours and several shenanigans later, we finally pulled into our stall and had our order button blinking. This time it only took a few minutes to order and less than 10 before our food arrived. Talking with the employees, we learned they had already made $30,000 by 7:00pm which had broken the opening day sales record for a Sonic. All with 4 hours left before closing. We took our photos and left, stuffed to the max with Sonic goodness. Although the 2.5 hour wait was well worth it for opening day, I don't plan to be back for at least a week when the line will hopefully be manageable.