Sonic Rolls Into MetroWest
Residents across the region have probably seen commercials on television for Sonic, a chain of drive-in restaurants that come complete with wait staff on roller skates. Soon, there may actually be one in the area to visit.
The Marlborough City Council recently approved a preliminary proposal for the national chain to open its third Massachusetts store in the state and its first in MetroWest.
And Marlborough officials are hoping that developing the area on Route 20 where the restaurant has been proposed will accelerate plans for a larger, mixed-use commercial and residential project near the site in the coming years.
“We’ve been talking about this area for a while and there have been ideas and then they get changed,” said Marlborough Mayor Nancy Stevens. “To see plans progressing is nice because we really see this as a great opportunity area for the city.”
Serving Up Expansion
Sonic has more than 3,500 locations around the country and they’ve been gradually expanding across the Northeast in the past few years, said Drew Ritger, senior vice president of business planning and purchasing for the Oklahoma City-based chain.
In the last 18 months new openings for the company slowed, due to a number of factors, including inclement weather, which limited new building opportunities, and the overall economic slowdown. The company reported a 33 percent drop in its most recent quarterly revenues.
But with summer around the corner and the economy “easing,” Ritger said, new store openings are picking up.
“The brand has already been very well received in Massachusetts and the Northeast,” Ritger said. “You’ll see us continue to grow at a moderate pace across the region.”
The parcel Sonic has proposed to build on is near the Marlborough Technology Park and is part of about 70 acres of land owned by Burlington-based Gutierrez Co., a real estate development company.
Officials hope the Sonic will open in the fall.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments