On March 7, 2022, Quincy welcomed a new restaurant to town. The fast-food chain Sonic Drive-In was finally completed and opened to the public.

The new building is located at 1501 Broadway Street in Quincy, Illinois. If you’re craving a creamy milkshake, or a cold, tangy, slushie Sonic is ready to serve. Sonic is known for its drive-in only service. To order food there are two different options to choose from.

There is the regular drive-in option where you pull up to the window and order food. Or the second option where you pull into a spot, park the vehicle, place an order, and then your food is brought out to you.

The people of Quincy were eager to have a Sonic closer to home. Before now, the closest Sonics available were in Hannibal, Missouri and Keokuk, Iowa.

“I was excited. I wanted a Sonic somewhere else besides Keokuk,” Logan Bentzinger, a local resident, said.

“I was very excited to find out we were getting a Sonic,” Nancy Rost, a local resident, said. “Well to find out we were getting one back anyways because we lost ours. The only one we had close was Hannibal and I didn’t get down there that often.”

According to local radio station KickFM, Quincy at one point had multiple Sonic restaurants. KickFM stated in an announcement that Sonic was “triumphantly returning to the Gem City”. Besides residents that have lived in Quincy for several years there are people who may not have known that.

“I remember the Sonics, there were three of them,” Rost said. “Let’s see…one was over by the Casey’s gas station on Maine Street. Another one was where the Subway on 24th Street is. Then of course there was the one that was down on Broadway Street where one of the Burger King’s is.”

With several different locations Sonic could have been located, residents are divided about the chosen location.

“I think anywhere on Broadway is a good choice,” Rost said. “I think if they would’ve went too far east they would’ve gotten flack from the other fast food places down that way. This way where they are at they are kind of by themselves. If people don’t want to go to McDonalds or Burger King, they are right there which I think is kind of smart.”

“I’m not a big fan of the new location, I think they could’ve put it closer to the Quincy Town center,” Bentzinger said. “Or they could’ve put it more to the east end of town by McCalisters. A lot of people go out that way to shop and they’d get a lot more business that way.”

Quincy lost all its Sonics once before, but there is hope that it doesn’t happen again. Locals are hoping that Sonic is here to stay.

“I hope that it does last, but at the same time I’m not a hundred percent sure,” Bentzinger said. “I can also see them after everybody is excited and that dies down that they are going to be struggling.”