Sonic restaurant opens in Lake Zurich

Date AddedSeptember 24, 2009 09:31:06 AM

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Village residents going for a swim in Lake Zurich now can walk across the road for cherry limeade, a Coney dog or onion rings, with the opening of the Sonic Drive-In at 205 S. Rand Road Monday.

About 20 village officials, chamber of commerce members, Rotary club members and residents attended the grand opening of the Sonic.

"We're delighted to have the Sonic in town," Village President Suzanne Branding said. "It's been vacant for a few years, and once (Sonic) got going, they really got going."

The site has been vacant for several years, since the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise closed.

"I think there are a lot of people excited to get in here, particularly the high school and college generation," Johnson said.

Sonic principal owner and North Barrington resident John Cywinski said the location was ideal.

"This location, off Rand Road, across from the lake, represents the ideal location for this Sonic," Cywinski said.

Cywinski said the restaurant recently hired 120 employees, including about 60 students from Lake Zurich High School and many other local residents.

A two-weekend Sonic job fair in early August garnered about 400 applicants, Cywinski said, adding the restaurant was still looking for employees for its day shift.

He added that out of eight other franchise investors, two were from North Barrington and two were from Lake Zurich.

"We're all friends; we've known each other for a long time," Cywinski said. "We set out from day one to build a Sonic near our home."

Village Administrator Bob Vitas said such restaurants usually generate about $2 million in sales a year. Village Finance Director Al Zochowski said the village receives about one percent of all sales revenue in sales tax.

Zochowski said sales tax revenue might not increase because of Sonic, because fast-food customers may just split their dollars between all the restaurants instead of buying more.

Asked if he believed the Sonic could succeed despite the bad economy and the proximity of Rand Road competitors such as Culver's, McDonald's and Burger King, Cywinski said it would succeed.

"Any village you are in, you're going to find virtually every fast-food restaurant available," Cywinski said. "It is a tough economy - one of the keys to our success is people know Sonic."