Mitch Neal
With 7 Sonic Drive In stores in the Raleigh area,
Mitch Neal is a very active member of the triangle and more specifically, the Rolesville community. He serves as a member on the Board of Directors of the Rolesville Chamber and also currently resides in Rolesville. He actively participiates in fundraisers for our local schools and is an upstanding member of our community.
Mitch is the regional manager for SONIC® Drive-In.
More about Drive-In
SONIC Drive-In Carhops have been serving up beloved American food and signature SONIC favorites at "the speed of sound" since 1953.
SONIC is parked in a very prominent place in the annals of drive-in history. Not only did we develop innovations in the drive-in concept, but we are one of the few remaining drive-in chains left in America. In an industry overwrought with automation, SONIC keeps the personal touch. Carhops still deliver food prepared-to-order right to your car.
We still make the best burgers and malts, plus signature goodies like Extra-Long Cheese Coneys and Chocolate Cream Pie Shakes. Our appeal doesn't necessarily hail from the past, but from an energy and personality that has thrived by surprising and delighting generations of Americans. Click below to see our story.
Service With The Speed Of SoundSM
Troy and Charlie would have kept the Top Hat name, but lawyers informed them it was copyrighted. So, they opened up the dictionary and started searching for a new name.
Echoing the common theme of those days, Top Hat's slogan had been "Service With the Speed of SoundSM." Indeed, the post-war world was changing fast. The country had seen the dawn of the Atomic Era and the beginnings of the Jet Age and the Space Race.
When Troy and Charlie ran across "sonic," meaning "speed of sound," they knew they had the perfect name. The Stillwater, Oklahoma Top Hat Drive-In became the first SONIC Drive-In and still serves hot dogs, root beer and Frozen Favorites desserts on the same site.
Franchises In The Bag
The new name sparked more requests from aspiring SONIC® operators. One of the reasons Troy Smith believes SONIC has been so successful through the years is that the drive-in operators are also part-owners, something he thinks makes a terrific difference.
The first SONIC® franchise ever sold came with the first formal SONIC® franchise agreement. The one-and-a-half page, double-spaced franchise contract was drafted by Shawnee lawyer, O.K. Winterringer, who also happened to be Troy's landlord.
The royalty fee of one penny per bag was based on the number of SONIC® sandwich bags sold through Cardinal Paper, one of SONIC's early vendors.
With each new franchisee, Troy would call Winterringer and another one-and-a-half page, double-spaced contract based on the penny-a-bag royalty was drafted. Troy and Charlie helped new partners with the layout, site selection and operation of their SONIC® Drive-Ins.
In the early days, there was no national advertising and there were no territorial rights. If two prospects wanted the same town, Winterringer and Troy would talk to them and convince one to go somewhere else.
Farewell To A Founder
Charlie Pappe unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 54. Troy Smith was left alone to run the burgeoning, 14 year-old company and its 41 SONIC® Drive-Ins.
Troy invited two franchisees to take over running SONIC® Supply Inc., the supply and distribution division of SONIC, with Marvin Jirous as president and Matt Kinslow serving as vice president. In the next six years, Troy, Marvin and Matt built an additional 124 SONICs in a core group of states including Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
SONIC Dons A Suit
In 1973, Troy, Marvin and Matt plus seven key principal franchise owners formed and restructured the company into SONIC® Systems of America, later changing the name to SONIC® Industries. They became the officers and board of directors and purchased the SONIC® name, slogan, trademark and logos from Troy, and the supply company from Marvin and Matt. They also offered each store operator the option to buy 1250 shares of stock at $1 per share.
SONIC was now owned by its franchisees. Due to the number of shares offered, SONIC also became an over-the-counter, publicly traded company.
There were now 165 SONICs in the chain.
The Next Generation
In a period of tremendous growth, more than 800 SONICs opened between 1973 and 1978. By early 1975, SONIC® Drive-Ins were in 13 southern and southwestern states. Jim Winterringer established the SONIC® School to formally train new managers. The first SONIC® television advertising was seen by the public in 1977.
Rough Road
Interest in SONIC skyrocketed, but first the oil embargo early 1970s, 21-percent interest rates, and record inflation later in the decade took a big bite out of business. Profits fell 21 percent during 1978 and 1979. Despite the downturn, January of 1980 saw the first SONIC® National Convention. This demonstrated to franchise owners that company management was determined to weather the storm and increase cooperation between SONIC and its franchisees. Plans were unveiled for more evenly paced growth.
Unfortunately, the 1980 annual report showed sales and operating revenues down more than $5 million, with a net operating loss of $300,000. In response, SONIC consolidated store operations and development, and closed 28 low-volume, company-owned drive-ins.
SONIC was down, but not out. The key element to SONIC's comeback was its traditional franchise policy of owner-operators.
The SONIC® Boom
In 1984, SONIC was more like a collection of independent stores than a cohesive business entity. Less than 1000 SONICs operated in 19 states, yet there was no national advertising program or a national purchasing cooperative. This was the same year that Cliff Hudson joined the SONIC legal department. He was instrumental in making several major changes in the company before eventually becoming president and CEO in 1995.
Hudson was on a team which led SONIC's management in a successful leveraged buyout from its franchisee shareholders for $10 million in May 1986. He also spearheaded two pivotal changes in the company. The first of these was taking SONIC public in March 1991 and initiating a secondary stock offering in 1995 which raised enough cash to pay off the company's debt and add to its working capital. Second, franchises in 17 key markets began purchasing together, giving significant cost savings to franchisees, and consistency and quality to customers. Advertising also increased to one-percent of sales.
By 2000, SONIC's media spending approached $64 million, and during the same fiscal year, SONIC's estimated market value grew to more than $600 million.
SONIC® 2000 And Beyond
In 1994 and 1995, customers, franchisees, suppliers and drive-in managers were invited to join a series of Dream Team meetings to discuss what SONIC was doing right and what SONIC could improve.
The meetings spawned SONIC® 2000, a new multi-layered strategy to further unify the company in terms of a consistent menu, brand identity, products, packaging and service. As a result, the new "retro-future" SONIC® logo was introduced, and the entire system adopted a consistent new look and menu, including a section dedicated to Fountain and Frozen Favorites®. The strategy allows SONIC continued success. The chain is expanding, brand awareness has increased, franchises are enjoying accelerated growth and chain operations are better unified for greater cost efficiencies. SONIC opened its 3,000th Drive-In in 2005. Today, SONIC has more than 3,000 SONIC® Drive-Ins from coast to coast and in Mexico, SONIC is the nation's largest drive-in chain and has a market capitalization of approximately $3.0 billion.
The country and the fast food business have changed a great deal since Troy Smith installed the first intercom system at the Top Hat Drive-In. Food fads have come and gone, but SONIC has differentiated itself through its business model, unique menu items and, of course, friendly "Service With the Speed of SoundSM."
