Two More Sonic Booms: Sales Record Set in Manchester and Expansion into Enfield Considered

A big week for Sonic just became a little bigger.

The of the fast-food restaurant on Saturday broke the single-day sales record for any Sonic.

Meanwhile, its owners said discussions about expanding into Enfield have turned serious.

Franchise owner Robert Mesite said Sunday night that Sonic executives at the corporate level confirmed the record sales news. He said corporate policy prohibits him from divulging the exact figures, but his restaurant at 90 Buckland St. did break the previous record set by his Wallingford restaurant last year.

Mesite said he is the first-ever Sonic franchise owner to set two single-day franchise sales records on back-to-back opening Saturdays.

"And it rained,'' Mesite said. "The worst thing for a Sonic is rain and we still set a record. Imagine what would have happened if the weather had been nice?''

The Wallingford and have been so well received that Mesite is talking serious expansion and mentioned two areas specifically - the Boston Post Road corridor in either Milford or Orange and Enfield near the Enfield Square Mall.
Mesite did not mention a specific parcel of land, but said all the sites looked at were close to the mall.

He said Enfield town officials have ''laid out the red carpet'' and added he would release details as they are agreed upon.

"Enfield is on the list,'' he said. "And we're expanding."

In fact, the restaurants have been so successful in such a short period of time that Mesite hired police officers and had a staff member trained under a state Department of Transportation program on duty during the busy hours for traffic control in Manchester’s opening day. Things went smoothly except for one incident when an Ellington man talking on his cell phone ran over the toes of the Sonic traffic control employee.

According to a Manchester police arrest report, on Saturday at 2:48 p.m., Jason Boucher of 9 Fairview St., Ellington, approached the Sonic Driveway. Mesite said both the police officer and the Sonic employee attempted to direct Boucher into the Sonic parking lot, but because he was talking the phone and was not paying attention, he ran over the foot of the employee.

Mesite said he witnessed the incident. "How can you miss our employee, plus a police officer in a bright green safety vest?'' Mesite asked. "This guy is a poster boy for distracted driving. He broke every rule about distracted driving. Our employee tried to get out of the way, but he could not and the car's tire nicked his toe,'' he said.

Mesite said the employee was not injured, but was upset.

“We're glad it wasn't worse,'' he said.

Boucher has been charged with third-degree assault., reckless driving, illegal use of a cell phone while driving and distracted driving, according to a police report. Police said his bond was set at $5,000 and he is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on June 28.