The Sonic Drive-In experience comes to Thurston County

Thurston County’s first Sonic Drive-In opened Tuesday, complete with ribbon-cutting, 100 employees and plenty of customers who lined up before its 10 a.m opening and then quickly filled the stalls, drive-thru and walk-up area to order food.

The Lacey area store, which broke ground in October, is on Martin Way East in front of the retailer Great Floors and near WinCo Foods.

Majority owner Jasmin Patel, who owns locations in Bonney Lake, Puyallup and Tacoma, said he didn’t advertise the opening of the new location, but it didn’t matter: Sonic Drive-In fans were ready and waiting.

Patel also is opening a Sonic in Chehalis this summer and expects to open one in west Olympia toward the end of summer, he said.

“It’s a fun concept,” he said about his interest in the business, which mirrors the drive-in that may have been more common in the 1950s and 1960s, including employees who deliver food while wearing roller skates .

He described the menu as classic American, including burgers and hot dogs. But some of the most popular items are the shakes, lemonades and limeades, he said. Sonic sells a line of beverages called “slushes,” a candy-infused drink that was popular early Tuesday.

Mark Miller, of DuPont, the first customer in line Tuesday, ordered one of the slushes with Nerds candy inside.

Tiffany Szasz, of DuPont, ordered a strawberry lemonade with Pop Rocks candy. She also got a breakfast burrito with tater tots, and was in search of hot sauce when she bumped into a reporter.

She said she eats at Sonic twice a week, but will now drive to Lacey rather than Tacoma because it’s more convenient to her home.

Kelly Faust of Nisqually grew up in Oklahoma, the birthplace of Sonic more than 60 years ago. It has since grown to 3,500 locations.

“I couldn’t wait for it to open,” she said, adding she loves the burgers because they are big and filling. “I love the whole menu.”

Service on opening day may have been a tad slower than it usually is, but that didn’t bother Faust.

“The food is well worth the wait,” she said.

The immediate area is growing. A Church’s Chicken is next door to Sonic and a Starbucks with drive-thru appears set to open soon.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "The Sonic Drive-In experience comes to Thurston County."