Sonic

In 1954, Troy Smith of Shawnee, Oklahoma, opened a root beer and hot dog stand called the Top Hat Drive-In. He installed a speaker system for orders and used the slogan “Service with the Speed of Sound.” He also offered carhop service. In 1956, Smith franchised his first operation to Charlie Pappe of Woodward, Oklahoma, who became Smith’s partner, and they changed the company’s name to “Sonic Drive-In.”

When Charlie Pappe died in 1967, Sonic had forty-one outlets, which expanded to 165 stores within six years. In 1973, the company was restructured into Sonic Systems of America (the name was later changed to Sonic Industries). Ownership of the company shifted to its franchisees, and Sonic became a publicly traded company. By 1978 Sonic expanded to more than eight hundred outlets in thirteen Southern and Southwestern states.