Don't Get Too Excited About New York City's First Sonic Drive-In

In the past year, New York City has seen the arrival of several major chain restaurants long missing from its repertoire. A year ago, Dairy Queen arrived near Union Square, not long after, the FiDi became home to a very fancy Denny's, and in March Chick-fil-A announced its imminent arrival in Midtown. Now, technically, we can add Sonic to the list.

The popular fast food drive-in chain, staffed by servers on roller skates and loved for its tens of thousands of possible fountain drink and slush combinations, is very close to opening its first outpost on Staten Island. The restaurant has actually been in the works for two years, delayed, the co-owner tells SI Live, by roadwork nearby. But now, he says, he hopes to open by mid-July or early August – ideally, no doubt, to catch the end of peak frozen drink season.

Now for the bad news: this Sonic is at 148 Page Avenue, at the exact opposite end of Staten Island as the ferry, and just about as far away as possible from Manhattan. So yes, it's the first Sonic in New York City, which is a big step forward, but at this point you're still better off driving to New Jersey, where there are much closer Sonics to be found in North Bergen and Bayonne. Maybe one day they'll figure out how to make a drive-in work in Manhattan.