Ricky Davis,
owner of Sonic, was the presenter at the October 17 meeting of the Rotary Club
of Heber Springs. A great corporate citizen, Sonic is active in regular
community event sponsorship around Heber Springs and in all the locations where
his stores operate. Mr. Davis spoke of his history with the company, and the
company’s plans for the future.
Mr. Davis
has worked with Sonic as an employee and later as a store owner, for all of his
adult life. Graduating from high school in 1976, he enrolled in Arkansas (now
Lyon) College in Batesville, working all four years of his college career at
the local Sonic. After graduation, he became Managing Partner at the Sonic in
Heber Springs, which was then located on South 7th Street. He met
and married his wife Cindy while working at that Sonic, and today in Mr. Davis’
42nd year with the company, the pair owns twenty-six stores – one
each in Tennessee and Oklahoma, and the remainder in Arkansas.
They remain
a very successful family business, with two of the couple’s children working
closely with the business. There are 3700 Sonics in operation in the United
States averaging $1.2 million in sales each year. The Sonics owned by Davis
average $1.75 million in yearly sales. This is in great part because of their
dedication to exceptional service. “From order to delivery,” Davis said, “you
can expect to have your food in your hands in three to four minutes.” This
speed of service has ranked their stores number one in the nation and he noted
they also have the least number of complaints of any stores in the country.
Building on
this success, the company is primed for future growth and expansion. Having
recently acquired 2.88 acres next to Wal-Mart in Heber Springs, Davis has plans
to build one of the biggest Sonics in the country. “While there are many
details which need to be completed on the front end before construction can
begin,” he said, “once they begin construction, the Sonic will be open within
80 days.” The new Sonic will feature a large playground for children, as well
as additional outdoor seating, more parking spaces and drive through ordering
lanes. They hope to begin construction very soon. Once complete, Sonic will
only close for a couple days to transfer everything from the old location to
the new store. While the store location
will change, the commitment to community and quality service will not. They
plan to continue being good corporate citizens supporting events and causes
that give back to the people who patronize their stores, and supporting the
communities in which they work.
Rotarians are “People of Action” who are making a difference locally, nationally and internationally. The Object of Rotary is "to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise." The Rotary Club of Heber Springs meets each Tuesday at noon on the ASU-Heber Springs Campus. For more information about the Rotary Club of Heber Springs, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/TheRotaryClubofHeberSpringsAR
