I briefly worked as a cook at a Sonic back in 2013. Watched a carhop faceplant in the parking lot. The part of me that grew up watching Beavis and Butt-head in the '90s thought it hilarious. The mature part of me, however, thought it was so stupid that any company would think that was a good idea for their employees.
@@alidaweber1023 yeah I think of that viral video where the sonic worker skates right into the car spilling all the drinks through the open window. Or just people slipping on the hard concrete or asphalt.
@@zacwoods they should make sonic's top fry cook and sega's top nerd fight it out for the rights to both companies. One has to be dressed like the hedgehog, the other has to wear the roller skates. sonic gets metal rings to chunk at the cook. The fry cook will get pancake flippers beat sonic with
One critique I would have of the video is that it doesn't seem to fully answer the title. It explains why Sonic has been successful, but doesn't address why they are supposedly the only drive in restaurant that has survived.
7:30 because just as they will never claim to be healthy, they won't follow down the trend craze as they rather rebel in keeping the atmosphere of nostalgia of diner food, car hop & rollerblade!!! SERIOUSLY, THE ENTIRE VIDEO EXPLAINS THE TITLE!!! ARE YOU EVEN WATCHING?!?!?
I mean are you even reading the critique. The title implies that it answers why Sonic versus other drive-ins is the one left standing. The time stamp answers why Sonic is different from other fast food but doesn't explain the downfall of drive-ins nor why Sonic survived it. Lol.@@yokikokudou
When my parents were kids in the '50s and '60s, dining was all about going to a restaurant but not having to leave the comfort of your car. 60 years later, dining's now all about getting the restaurant delivered and not having to leave the comfort of your living room. You can even get Sonic Doordashed these days.
Awesome choice. They're huge here in Canada. Bigger than BK. Probably a bit smaller than Wendy's. Not too sure. They have a nice Habanero Chicken Sandwich.
Sonic was my first ever job. It was great, had a cool manager. Also, tried several drugs for the first time from people I worked with. Sharing is nice.
Oh my goodness! My dad was born in 1953 and grew up near Shawnee (as did I -- I grew up next door to my grandparents), and I can remember him telilng me (usually while we were waiting for our order Sonic at the nearby Tecumseh location) that he used to go to the original when he was a kid.
I miss the plastic animals you used to get when you ordered a drink. The tail of the animal had a distinctive curve that allowed the plastic toy to sit inside of the straw in the drink. My aunt had a large collection of them when I was a kid.
Ah, those were the days. And they had the massively huge drinks. At least for back then. Pretty sure I have brain damage from one too many Sonic Slush head aches.
We have a local restaurant that started as a drive in. It still has the drive in area, but you can now also go inside and eat. The squawk box outside is really hard to understand. Inside, you use a phone to place your order. It’s one of my favorite places to eat.
The first time I went to Sonic it was such an amazing experience. There is nothing like this in Canada, I'm sure for obvious reasons, but even just the style of food was so good a different from anything that I was used to. I can only hope that someday they bring Sonic to Canada in some form
Sonic will probably always be my favorite fast food spot. Nothing better than a Chili Cheese Coney with Cheese Tots or their Super Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger....
I have very fond memories of working at Blockbuster late on Friday and Saturday nights, and once the evening rush died down one of us would walk across the parking lot to Sonic and bring back burgers, onion rings, and chili cheese coneys and we’d watch something behind the counter as long as the store was empty.
My state has numerous drive-ins still open to this day. Dude's, DJ's, and Hank's. New River Valley, Virginia also has one of the last drive-in movie theaters left too, Starlight. Got to keep the good stuff around.
I remember the Sonic Drive in when it was built in 2000. I when when it first opened me and my mom were driving by and I saw a carhop with roller skates rolling very carefully to someone's car. They got rid of the roller skates not long after. Fir Sonic's 50th anniversary they had one of those battery operated kids cars. It was a red Ford Mustang with Sonic on it. It was a neat looking small place. It closed some years ago and was torn down I think in 2022. I remember one time I did as a joke I walked through the drive thru and ordered a soda and a vanilla ice cream🥤🍦, just to see the reactions of the Sonic employees.
I live about a block away from sonic. The food is terrible...like really terrible. We only ever go to get icecream but never food. I do like their in app ordering, its really slick.
I always found the food there to be high quality and tasty, of course I don't eat beef or pork, so I can't say what their burgers or hot dogs are like. Maybe it's just that particular Sonic.
The food quality definitely depends on the store location. I worked at two different locations in college, one in my college town and one back in my hometown. The quality difference was night and day.
It's definitely been skewing worse lately. 5-6 years back, I lived pretty close to a Sonic that was always pretty good quality. I moved to the other side of the city, and I've gone to three different Sonics near me. All of them are pretty much awful. I could literally have microwaved better food than what one of them served me. Which is insane when they want almost $20 for food/fries/drink.
1:12 I would say that America is not unique in its love of car culture; they just did it first, and was big enough and young enough to not have too much pre-built infrastructure getting in the way.
The motto was actually "service at the speed of sound". You even showed one of their signs that said that, so I don't know where you got "fast food at sonic speed". I liked getting the Frito chili pie, but now they don't seem to offer that any more. But they do have a steak sandwich, which is good because Braum's stopped offering a steak sandwich.
Sonic on South Topeka Avenue in Topeka, KS (obviously!) was the hangout for Topeka High School students in the mid-60s ( I graduated in 1965), they were open late & we could hang out past midnight.
My favorite sonic, as an okie who grew up eating sonic, is the one in salida colorado. It completely forgoes the traditional look for a wood cabin vibe
Sonic may be the last chain focusing primarily on drive-in dining, but I know the A&W chain still has a few drive-ins in the U.S.; I dine at the Payette, ID drive-in sometimes.
I mean was there ever another nationwide franchised carhop style drive in cuz I can't think of any others that aren't just single local locations that sonic has "outlasted" or whatever
Me and my parents witnessed what was probably the last nail in the skating carhop coffin for my local sonic. One getting horribly injured from skating in the rain
Sonic is one of my favorite places to eat. However, I don’t eat there often. It’s gotten too expensive for my budget and it’s not as healthy as other places I can eat, like my home. If you have the money and just want something that tastes wonderful it’s a great place to go.
NGL...we would stop at the liquor store first, then head to Sonic during Happy Hour for the fruit slushies...that was the cheapest and tastiest frozen drink ever! I say "would" like I don't do the same thing today...the only difference is that I have the liquor and the Sonic delivered! 😂😂😂
One of my two ideas for a restaurant would be a drive-in theater/diner. Mainly because cinema food is so expensive, but if one were to order a proper meal that cost the same as cinema food then that would be great.
Personally I liked Sonic when they were cheaper. But like all fast food, the prices have gotten way too high. Happy hour drinks are still a good deal though.
It's not the last. My hometown (Grass Valley, CA) has Big A's, which was split off from A&W's a long time ago. They still have the drive-in, but no roller skating.
I miss the time when A&W was a drive-in. They should have improved their food menu. Staying with the same ole burgers and little more for so long didn't help.
Unfortunately alot of the Sonic franchises do not care about quality of their food and a lot of times they even get the orders wrong I used to love Sonic when I was younger but I can't stand it now the food is usually cold and nasty...
My local sonic(s) have all closed I think all of them in washington state closed up. Last time I went to one didnt get my full order the manager said he didnt feel like fixing my order tried to fight me and got beat up!
I still want to rent a certain Chevrolet model car and bring one of my Amiibo to one of these places...that way I can have Sonic in a Sonic at a Sonic.
I’ve vacated 4 times in the US in different states and never seen one (that I remember anyway) but guess they have restrooms now which is a plus as with fountain drinks Id need to pee!
Having ANOTHER Weird History drink! Drinking Sprecher Ginger Ale*†...while watching this Weird History video! I bought it at Menards. * Inspired by the Weird History videos about Halloween and those about soda. † It is in a 16 oz glass bottle (with a penguin on it)
When I was a kid, I thought it was so cool they used to bring your order while wearing roller skates. As an adult I can see why they ditched that
Yep. Too much liability for accidents and injuries.
I briefly worked as a cook at a Sonic back in 2013. Watched a carhop faceplant in the parking lot. The part of me that grew up watching Beavis and Butt-head in the '90s thought it hilarious. The mature part of me, however, thought it was so stupid that any company would think that was a good idea for their employees.
@@alidaweber1023 yeah I think of that viral video where the sonic worker skates right into the car spilling all the drinks through the open window. Or just people slipping on the hard concrete or asphalt.
Hold Ya FARD 🤯
The real question is why Sonic never did a Sonic the Hedgehog promotion.
i’ve always thought about that 😂😂
EXACTLY! It has to be a longstanding copyright issue between the two (Sonic Corp and SEGA) and so they wont do business. Otherwise it makes no sense.
@@zacwoods they should make sonic's top fry cook and sega's top nerd fight it out for the rights to both companies. One has to be dressed like the hedgehog, the other has to wear the roller skates. sonic gets metal rings to chunk at the cook. The fry cook will get pancake flippers beat sonic with
Sonic blue slushee or shake is a missed opportunity, especially with how big the movies have gotten
They've done a Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam collab, but not Sonic! 🤣🤣
One critique I would have of the video is that it doesn't seem to fully answer the title. It explains why Sonic has been successful, but doesn't address why they are supposedly the only drive in restaurant that has survived.
7:30 because just as they will never claim to be healthy, they won't follow down the trend craze as they rather rebel in keeping the atmosphere of nostalgia of diner food, car hop & rollerblade!!!
SERIOUSLY, THE ENTIRE VIDEO EXPLAINS THE TITLE!!! ARE YOU EVEN WATCHING?!?!?
I mean are you even reading the critique. The title implies that it answers why Sonic versus other drive-ins is the one left standing. The time stamp answers why Sonic is different from other fast food but doesn't explain the downfall of drive-ins nor why Sonic survived it. Lol.@@yokikokudou
A Sonic The Hedgehog promotion with Chili Dogs just seemed so obvious!
There's an old skit video about that premise on TH-cam somewhere
When my parents were kids in the '50s and '60s, dining was all about going to a restaurant but not having to leave the comfort of your car.
60 years later, dining's now all about getting the restaurant delivered and not having to leave the comfort of your living room. You can even get Sonic Doordashed these days.
Please do The History of A&W Restaurants
Never Say Never 😎 Justin Bieber
Awesome choice. They're huge here in Canada. Bigger than BK. Probably a bit smaller than Wendy's. Not too sure. They have a nice Habanero Chicken Sandwich.
Sonic is the reason I have my own personal steering wheel food tray, in my car. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it.
I'd love to see a histories of mall food court staples like Sbarro and Cajun Grill sometime!
Glad I was able to experience the Sonic with rollerskate delivery!
I do miss the entertainment of new hires getting the hang of carrying a tray with roller skates, though.
Sonic was my first ever job. It was great, had a cool manager. Also, tried several drugs for the first time from people I worked with. Sharing is nice.
Drugs are bad, mmm'k?
@anthonychihuahua I mean fast food, LSD, what's the difference?
@@anthonychihuahuaok
When I was a kid in the 70's A&W drive in was the spot for lunch on the weekends!
Oh my goodness! My dad was born in 1953 and grew up near Shawnee (as did I -- I grew up next door to my grandparents), and I can remember him telilng me (usually while we were waiting for our order Sonic at the nearby Tecumseh location) that he used to go to the original when he was a kid.
In Cleveland/Akron there's a bunch of drive-ins around not just Sonic
Swensons!!
@Drummingwizkid Yes plus Skyway & Dilly's. There might even be another that I'm not remembering
Same, I can think of four in my city off the top of my head. Though most of them close for the winter.
@tubes42024 i haven't lived in akron for many years, but i think A&W was a drive-in at one point. Could be me getting old and misremembering, lol.
@@Drummingwizkidsadly the A&W closed down a few years back.
I love sonic. It is not the best in any category but is a great place to get a bit of everything. Also fond memories as a kid.
Nothing beats their cherry-limeades.
I love Sonic's shakes, such a great variety, unlike most fastfood joints.
When I went to Austin, TX I was introduced to their Country Fried Steak Sandwich, which isn't available in the Northwest AND IT SHOULD BE!
How about the Rise and Fall on Bennigans
If WHF doesn't do it, Company Man should.
Canadians got a suppy of bubblegum and coupons to Bennigan"s during their strike for more internet money. 😆
Their Tater tots alone ensure the company's survival
All the local Sonics closed. Haha
I miss the plastic animals you used to get when you ordered a drink. The tail of the animal had a distinctive curve that allowed the plastic toy to sit inside of the straw in the drink. My aunt had a large collection of them when I was a kid.
Ah, those were the days. And they had the massively huge drinks. At least for back then. Pretty sure I have brain damage from one too many Sonic Slush head aches.
We have a local restaurant that started as a drive in. It still has the drive in area, but you can now also go inside and eat. The squawk box outside is really hard to understand. Inside, you use a phone to place your order. It’s one of my favorite places to eat.
I'd like to thank somic for rejecting modern trends and not shrinking their menu
I remember going to Sonic as a kid in the early 70s and back then it seemed their burgers were as big around as a Frisbee.
The first time I went to Sonic it was such an amazing experience. There is nothing like this in Canada, I'm sure for obvious reasons, but even just the style of food was so good a different from anything that I was used to. I can only hope that someday they bring Sonic to Canada in some form
Sonic will probably always be my favorite fast food spot.
Nothing better than a Chili Cheese Coney with Cheese Tots or their Super Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger....
I have very fond memories of working at Blockbuster late on Friday and Saturday nights, and once the evening rush died down one of us would walk across the parking lot to Sonic and bring back burgers, onion rings, and chili cheese coneys and we’d watch something behind the counter as long as the store was empty.
Thanks for this! 🍟
My state has numerous drive-ins still open to this day. Dude's, DJ's, and Hank's. New River Valley, Virginia also has one of the last drive-in movie theaters left too, Starlight. Got to keep the good stuff around.
Michigan has about 5 drive in movie theaters that i kno about
I remember the Sonic Drive in when it was built in 2000. I when when it first opened me and my mom were driving by and I saw a carhop with roller skates rolling very carefully to someone's car. They got rid of the roller skates not long after. Fir Sonic's 50th anniversary they had one of those battery operated kids cars. It was a red Ford Mustang with Sonic on it.
It was a neat looking small place. It closed some years ago and was torn down I think in 2022.
I remember one time I did as a joke I walked through the drive thru and ordered a soda and a vanilla ice cream🥤🍦, just to see the reactions of the Sonic employees.
There's a Sonic nearby that was converted into a slot machine casino, currently open longer than the original Sonic was
I live about a block away from sonic. The food is terrible...like really terrible. We only ever go to get icecream but never food. I do like their in app ordering, its really slick.
I always found the food there to be high quality and tasty, of course I don't eat beef or pork, so I can't say what their burgers or hot dogs are like. Maybe it's just that particular Sonic.
The food quality definitely depends on the store location. I worked at two different locations in college, one in my college town and one back in my hometown. The quality difference was night and day.
It's definitely been skewing worse lately. 5-6 years back, I lived pretty close to a Sonic that was always pretty good quality. I moved to the other side of the city, and I've gone to three different Sonics near me. All of them are pretty much awful. I could literally have microwaved better food than what one of them served me. Which is insane when they want almost $20 for food/fries/drink.
I agree but the smash burger is actually pretty good.
Now I’m going to get a refreshing ocean water!
And then these days transpired and nobody could afford sonic any longer 😢
They were already expensive before the great price gouge. I've not even looked lately.
Best narrator! ❤
Keep simping. Bit chass virgin 😂
Our Sonic is now a part time drive-in and the car hops don't use roller skates any more
Sonic has been around for so many years. It's about time they come to Canada 🍁
In my birth town we had and still have a drive-in chain called ‘Stars’ and it’s nostalgic for me to eat there whenever i visit my home town
I totally forgot about their commercials, they were absolutely great
1:12 I would say that America is not unique in its love of car culture; they just did it first, and was big enough and young enough to not have too much pre-built infrastructure getting in the way.
Nah I just get the ketchup all over my pants and shirt
I'm from South Texas and we have a restaurant called Stars drive in!! They serve basically the same stuff as sonic.
The motto was actually "service at the speed of sound". You even showed one of their signs that said that, so I don't know where you got "fast food at sonic speed".
I liked getting the Frito chili pie, but now they don't seem to offer that any more. But they do have a steak sandwich, which is good because Braum's stopped offering a steak sandwich.
Sonic on South Topeka Avenue in Topeka, KS (obviously!) was the hangout for Topeka High School students in the mid-60s ( I graduated in 1965), they were open late & we could hang out past midnight.
I went on a date with my ex boyfriend , he took me to sonic back in 1987. ❤🥰
Sonic 1977-1980
My favorite sonic, as an okie who grew up eating sonic, is the one in salida colorado. It completely forgoes the traditional look for a wood cabin vibe
Lets go! finally some sonic representation
Sonic may be the last chain focusing primarily on drive-in dining, but I know the A&W chain still has a few drive-ins in the U.S.; I dine at the Payette, ID drive-in sometimes.
I mean was there ever another nationwide franchised carhop style drive in cuz I can't think of any others that aren't just single local locations that sonic has "outlasted" or whatever
Me and my parents witnessed what was probably the last nail in the skating carhop coffin for my local sonic. One getting horribly injured from skating in the rain
I've only ate at Sonic once, and never again after that.
SONIC’s ice has always been the best. Their ice is one of a kind. Now counter-top ice makers are trying to compete.
Please do Braum's next and be sure to include the Ernest commercials :)
Braum's is definitely the g.o.a.t in my opinion
proud to be a viewer of one of these the second it drops. I love learning about this stuff.
Are there one or two A&W drive ins with frosty mugs and roller skates still around somewhere?
I've only ever seen 1 A&W and it was an A&W / Long John Silver's and it recently shut down and is being replaced with the coffee shop.
Sonic is one of my favorite places to eat. However, I don’t eat there often. It’s gotten too expensive for my budget and it’s not as healthy as other places I can eat, like my home. If you have the money and just want something that tastes wonderful it’s a great place to go.
Sonic has been in Michigan for about 10 years now and I never once seen anyone in one of those pull in spots
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Awesome restaurant, glad they keep the drive-in culture alive!
The other thing is that Sonic comes into rural areas. Very smart!
good video
Ocean water is delicious. But it’s also basically just sprite with coconut syrup and blue food dye. Still delicious but much less mysterious.
NGL...we would stop at the liquor store first, then head to Sonic during Happy Hour for the fruit slushies...that was the cheapest and tastiest frozen drink ever!
I say "would" like I don't do the same thing today...the only difference is that I have the liquor and the Sonic delivered! 😂😂😂
I would say it is because their food is still much better than any other fast food chain and it is part of our past.
Sinic is Grease o Rama City.
I miss the Sonic in Green Bay. They tried only drive-in for a winter city. It lasted hardly a year.
Now Sonic is opening regular restaurants where you eat inside
I always wanted to go to a sonic as a kid. Now today I'd never bother cause its so insanely expensive.
Mine still has rollerskates. I was surprised!
6:40
I don’t think Lemonade, mint, and lime would taste that good 😂
I wish we had this chain in Canada.
One of my two ideas for a restaurant would be a drive-in theater/diner. Mainly because cinema food is so expensive, but if one were to order a proper meal that cost the same as cinema food then that would be great.
Personally I liked Sonic when they were cheaper. But like all fast food, the prices have gotten way too high. Happy hour drinks are still a good deal though.
It's not the last.
My hometown (Grass Valley, CA) has Big A's, which was split off from A&W's a long time ago.
They still have the drive-in, but no roller skating.
New Sonic locations no longer are a true drive-in. They have a drive thru lane and spots for curbside online orders only. 😭
I miss the time when A&W was a drive-in. They should have improved their food menu. Staying with the same ole burgers and little more for so long didn't help.
I went to an A&W in Edmonton and it blew my mind. Canadian A&W is what American A&W should be but isn't.
Man, I took my son to an A&W for chili dogs, fries and a RB...paid waaaaay to damn much for how basic and blah it was haha
I don't know why, but until now I always thought Sonic was a gaz station chain lmao
In South Texas we have a drive in called StarsDrive-in and i prefer it over Sonic
I get nauseous just thinking about Sonic’s food.
1:18 Modders - shows a picture of a Citroen Saxo or the Peugeot equivalent - LMAO, it's called Jacky Tuning in France.
the sonic near my house only has a drive thru..for a while now
How odd. I just ate at an A&W drive-in Wednesday. I can name several within easy driving distance in Minnesota.
What hot dog brand do they use or what is closest to it
Unfortunately alot of the Sonic franchises do not care about quality of their food and a lot of times they even get the orders wrong I used to love Sonic when I was younger but I can't stand it now the food is usually cold and nasty...
The quality of sonic in Georgia has taken a nose dive. They are all closing
Ocean Water has to be the worst drink ever conceived by man. It tastes like how sunblock smells, or like the second cleanest community pool water.
Those onion rings hit hard though
My local sonic(s) have all closed I think all of them in washington state closed up. Last time I went to one didnt get my full order the manager said he didnt feel like fixing my order tried to fight me and got beat up!
Who doesn't want one of those very overly topping hotdogs
Our sonic doesn’t have roller skates, fills our drink orders with ice and no refills. Really ruined it for the kids
They’re not though? They’re just the last major fast food chain to be a drive-in. There’s ton of local places that still donit
A&w in my town still has drive in and we have about 5 other drive in mom and pop shops as well
There’s Stars drive in too in south Texas at least.
I mean sure maybe the last but if you're in the midwest, specifically Northeast Ohio (and i hear nearby), Swenson's is beloved
Does Atlanta's The Varsity no longer drive-in ordering?
They built one by me a year ago and its drive thru only. :(
I still want to rent a certain Chevrolet model car and bring one of my Amiibo to one of these places...that way I can have Sonic in a Sonic at a Sonic.
The number of drink combinations was listed as more than a million (1,063,953) not a thousand.
I’ve vacated 4 times in the US in different states and never seen one (that I remember anyway) but guess they have restrooms now which is a plus as with fountain drinks Id need to pee!
But it's not that last drive-in standing.
Having ANOTHER Weird History drink!
Drinking Sprecher Ginger Ale*†...while watching this Weird History video!
I bought it at Menards.
* Inspired by the Weird History videos about Halloween and those about soda.
† It is in a 16 oz glass bottle (with a penguin on it)