Two of the Houston-area restaurants are under construction at 19625 Tomball Parkway and the intersection of Cypresswood and Interstate 45 in the suburb of Spring. Mike Gent, Sonic's senior vice president of real estate and SRI Development told GlobeSt.com that the chain plans to open 25 to 30 new restaurants nationwide. The Oklahoma City-based chain consists of franchise and company-owned restaurants. There are 2,219 stores nationwide, of which 1,900 are franchises. In 2000 Sonic had opened 30 new restaurants in Texas and 175 nationwide.

Although Sonic owns architectural plans for its stores, Dallas architectural firm AIG is assisting with the projects. Gent says there are three sets of plans, with variations, that can be used to develop properties. "If you did the math," says Gent, "there would be in excess of a million different ways to customize the stores" and not detract from the corporate brand. Branding is very important to Sonic, says Gent.

The Tomball Parkway location totals 45,000 sf, with 1,362-sf dedicated to dining space. The Spring Sonic site encompasses 56,922 sf and the same area allotted for dining. Houston-based Jerry Kachel Builder Inc. is the general contractor for the projects.Both sites have been purchased from Motiva, the Houston-based venture of Shell, Texaco and Saudi Aramco. John Santasiero of Houston's Riverway Properties had represented Motiva in the deal. Jeff Mallet of Houston-based Jeff Mallet & Co. is Sonic's real estate consultant.