From the Ground Up: Sonic Drive-In

Owner: D.L. Rogers Corp. (Grapevine, Texas)
General contractor: Don Erbert Construction LLC (Iola, Kansas)
Architect: Abbot Studios Architects LLC (Columbus, Ohio)
Engineers: Blew & Associates PA (Fayetteville, Arkansas), civil; Lewis Engineering Group Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio), structural; and Engineering Support Services Ltd. (Columbus, Ohio), mechanical, engineering and plumbing
Size: 1,800 square feet
Estimated cost: WND
Lender: WND
Estimated completion: Spring
Project description: The current Sonic Drive-In on West Sunshine Street soon will be supplanted by an updated restaurant just blocks away on the onetime site of Perkins Restaurant & Bakery. D.L. Rogers Corp. purchased the building after the Perkins closure in 2019 and then leased it to Norma’s Carriage House as a second location. With difficulties getting off the ground during the pandemic, the second Norma’s closed down fairly quickly, and D.L. Rogers Corp. demolished the building for construction of a new Sonic. According to past Springfield Business Journal reporting, the eatery will feature 24 stalls and a drive-thru, plus an outdoor play facility. Keith Fagan, an architect with Columbus-based Abbot Studios Architects, said the team responsible for the project works together regularly to construct franchise locations for D.L. Rogers Corp., which shows on its website 260 Sonic Drive-In restaurants in 10 states.