The Anti-Sonic Burger

On Monday, November 2, the second Sonic Drive-In in San Diego County opened for business on the corner of Broadway and South Santa Fe Avenue in Vista. Like the Santee location, this time North County folks went nutso for the 1950s-style restaurant’s roller-skating carhops and car-window service. Traffic was so heavy, the city opened an auxiliary lot to hold all the waiting cars. When the restaurant opened at 5:30 a.m., the line was out to the street, according general manager Shawn Boyd. There was over an hour wait most of the day just to place an order.

Down the street, within view of Sonic, Pepper Tree Frosty is one of the oldest hamburger stands in the county. Family-owned since 1960, second-generation owner Danny Villaseñor said his Monday was extremely busy. “We called in everyone we could to work.” Villaseñor says he got Sonic’s overflow along with his regulars. “There was even an anti-Sonic crowd,” he said.

He’s seen this before, when McDonald's and other burger joints came to town. “We actually benefit every time a new fast-food place opens because we offer things you won’t find at any other place,” he says.

On Tuesday, the day after some of the Sonic hoopla settled, Villaseñor said his sales were still higher than average.