“Sonic coming to Danbury”

Posted: 15 Aug 2010 08:13 PM PDT

DANBURY -- A Sonic restaurant, from the company famous for its 1950s-style, car-hop service, might open its doors as soon as spring.

Plans for the restaurant, which would be built in the parking lot of Xpect Discounts, were submitted to the city's Environmental Impact Commission.

Commission chairman Bernard Gallo said the site was previously reviewed for a Starbucks store, but it was never built.

Franchisee Rob Kopel said he owns three Sonic locations in Hudson Valley, N.Y., and opening a restaurant in Danbury makes sense as the company continues to expand.

The state's first Sonic opened last month in Wallingford, he said.

"We just love the brand, and in our continued expansion in the Northeast, Danbury is one of the areas we'd like to be located," Kopel said.

"We've been looking in the city for some time. Danbury is a great city, and we thought the concept would work very well there."

Kopel said the typical store usually hires about 100 employees. Wayne Shepperd, an aide to Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, said an influx of stores is adding to Danbury's job market.

"It's nice to have this continued flow of jobs coming into the city," Shepperd said.

Shepperd added that the Sonic will help to spruce up an under-utilized area of the city.

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