Sonic Drive-In Restaurant Chain Moving In

Sonic Corp., which bills itself as the largest chain of drive-in restaurants in the United States, is getting ready to invade Southern California.

The chain that bills itself as “America’s Drive-In” has three locations in the Golden State, but none in Orange County now. Formerly there were two, in Anaheim and Westminster. The chain, which is headquartered in Oklahoma City, is looking for franchisees but has not said how many locations it plans to open in California. It has 1,336 franchised restaurants and 231 company-owned eateries.

What does the publicly traded company have to offer that can’t be found in a state loaded with fast-food burger chains? Sonic argues that no other chain does what it’s doing. At a typical Sonic restaurant location, customers drive into the 24 to 36 covered parking spaces where orders are taken through an intercom. Carhops deliver the goods--heavy on the burgers, although other kinds of sandwiches are available--within minutes, the company said.

Sonic Drive-Ins are located mainly in the South. The chain has 463 locations in Texas, for example, and an additional 184 in Oklahoma.

Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com