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Shirley finally has its Sonic drive-in and locals show the love

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Shirley residents had been waiting on the edge on their bucket seats for this.

The hamlet’s new Sonic kicked on the grill Saturday and officially opened for business. Gleeful customers filled the eatery’s 20-car drive-in lot for lunch and dinner rushes.

For those unfamiliar with the Sonic chain or the drive-in concept, vehicles pull into stalls and drivers order their meals on the screen before them. Then, servers carrying trays of burgers, fries and shakes zip out of the building on roller skates to deliver the meals.

Spencer Hart, the franchisee who owns all five Sonic locations on Long Island along with his wife, Nancy, said Shirley is an excellent market for fast food.

“We’ve been thinking about Shirley for 10 years,” Hart said of the new Sonic located at 800 Montauk Highway. “The community has been terrific. We opened this morning, and I think word of mouth has gotten people to show up.”

In addition to the drive-in lot, customers can order at a traditional drive-thru or walk up to the menu display in front of the building and place an order there on its computer. Judging by the amount of activity at all three ordering spots, Long Islanders are eager to welcome the new eatery.

Sonic offers menu items not found at some of the other fast food places within mere blocks of the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway. The chain serves hot dogs, grilled cheese, corn dogs and its signature ice cream Blasts.

Check out some images from opening day at Sonic.

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