Sonic Drive-in going up in Landis

LANDIS — Sonic Drive-In, the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants, will open its newest drive-in on U.S. 29 by mid-March.

Officials of the Concord-based BRU (Burgers-R-Us) plan to open their fourth Sonic franchise by March 15 at 2894 U.S. 29, and it may open earlier.

The mix of drive-in atmosphere with good food has proved successful for the national franchise and BRU.

BRU President Terry Engstrom said the company is actively seeking a location in Salisbury for their fifth Sonic Drive-In.

The Landis facility will carry out the theme of the 1950s-era restaurant, complete with carhops on roller skates.

Engstrom said they try to get as many people as possible who can work on skates. In most cases, more than half of the carhops use skates.

Officials plan to set up an office at the restaurant to take employment applications.

But many people looking for a job have already contacted the main office of Burgers-R-Us at 2468 Kannapolis Highway in Concord.

In the tradition of the drive-in, the restaurant has no inside seating. There will be stalls for 20 cars.

The company provides patio seating under a covered, outside section, and a new feature will include a drive-through window and a “hop-thru” window for one-item type service.

The menu items include a variety of hot dogs, burgers, chicken, Frito pies and ice cream.

The Sonic will be open from 10 a.m to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends, it will remain open until midnight.

Burgers-R-Us owns around one acre at the site at U.S. 29 and Dial Street. The property is just outside the Landis city limits, but the town will provide water and sewer.

Sonic will use a portion of the tract and may develop the remainder for other uses.

Burgers-R-Us is a joint venture of Engstrom and Steve Arnold. They currently have restaurants in Concord, Albemarle and Aberdeen.

Engstrom said his company has looked at several possible sites in Salisbury but has run into zoning difficulties. They are continuing to look for a site.

Sonic’s drive-in concept now spans 27 Sunbelt states from coast-to-coast.

As of Nov. 30, there were 2,219 Sonic Drive-Ins with 1,900 franchised units and 319 company stores, according to a company news release. Sonic’s corporate headquarters are located in downtown Oklahoma City.

Sonic customers bought nearly 300 million hamburgers in 1999.