Sonic, 802 Market Street: late 1990s














Up until the late 1990s or early 2000s, this is where you went for your chili-cheese coney and onion rings fix, though now you can still do the same less than a mile up the road at the "new" location. If you remember the older style Sonics, you will recognize the distinct red stripe on the top of the building; otherwise, the building looks pretty nondescript. The address is a guess based on The Markette having a street number of 800, while Hardees and Fiesta Tapatia, both across the street, have street numbers of 801 and 803, respectively.

I was surprised to find some restaurant equipment, with at least what appears to be an oven, still sitting in the building. It may be used for storage for the current Sonic up the road, but with how everything inside looks so dirty, it really looks like it was easier for the owner to leave everything rather than move or dispose of it. The land and building does not currently appear to be for sale, and I don't think I've ever seen a for sale sign here so perhaps the owner of the current Sonic still owns this property.

Nature has consumed much of the property over the last twenty years, but even with the overhang and menu boxes torn down, you can still make out where the parking spots were. When I was a kid, if my dad was going to be out late playing golf or working, my mom and I would go to Sonic. Earlier on, I would want McDonald's, but as I got older, I would begin to prefer Sonic's burgers and onion rings. Nowadays, though I occasionally crave a chili-cheese coney, I don't really care for Sonic's onion rings because I find them to be a little too sweet. My taste buds have definitely changed, but that quarter pounder I ate when I took my daughter to McDonald's a few weeks ago actually wasn't too shabby.


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