Some Sonic Drive-In locations close in Colorado Springs
By
Breeanna JentJuly 15, 2025 | updated 2 months ago
Some Sonic Drive-In restaurants around Colorado Springs, including this location at 317 E. Fillmore St., pictured on Wednesday, have permanently closed. photos by Breeanna Jent, The Gazette
Some Sonic Drive-In locations across Colorado Springs have quietly closed.
A Sonic location at 317 E. Fillmore St., east of Nevada Avenue, closed permanently on June 19, according to a post last month on the social media website Reddit.
“This location is permanently closed. Please visit our nearest location at 5955 N. Academy Blvd.,” signs posted to the windows of the empty building read on a recent Wednesday afternoon. The drive-thru board was empty, and billboards and drive-in stalls were removed.
Five or six empty cars, not seemingly abandoned, were lined up in the remaining parking spaces on site. “Sorry for any inconvenience,” the notices concluded.
A sign alerts customers to the permanent closure of the Sonic restaurant at 317 E. Fillmore St. on Wednesday.
Breeanna Jent, The Gazette
A sign alerts customers to the permanent closure of the Sonic restaurant at 317 E. Fillmore St. on Wednesday.
Breeanna Jent, The Gazette
Sonic is known for its drive-in model that uses curbside speakers to place orders, and which at times has included the use of carhops on roller skates. Its vast menu includes customizable slushies, shakes and drink selections. Sonic’s fast-casual fare includes American cuisine classics like cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, french fries and more.
Three additional Sonics in town were also closed, a reporter observed last week.
Drive-ins at 603 S. Eighth St. in southwest Colorado Springs; at 878 W. Garden of the Gods Road, about 6.5 miles north on the city’s far west side; and at 4457 Austin Bluffs Parkway, just south of Barnes Road in northeastern Colorado Springs, all appeared to be permanently closed. The same notice of permanent closure was posted on the windows of the building at Sonic’s Austin Bluffs location.
Reddit users also noted a year ago that a Sonic location at 1465 Jamboree Drive, at the Chapel Hills Mall, had closed.
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It remained unclear Monday what drove the closures and when all of the restaurants closed their doors. It was also unclear Monday if more Sonic locations could close in Colorado Springs.
Reddit users complained of understaffing and long lines at Sonic restaurants in the city.
The company did not respond to several emails from The Gazette requesting more information.
Sonic began as a root beer stand called Top Hat in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla. Three years later, in 1959, Troy Smith and partner Charles Pappe changed the existing Top Hat locations to the name Sonic, matching their slogan: “Service at the speed of sound,” according to the brand’s website.
Sonic is part of Inspire Brands, an Atlanta-based restaurant group that also owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’ and Jimmy John’s.
Sonic has more than 3,500 restaurants in 46 states, according to its website.
There are 11 locations across the Pikes Peak region, including seven in Colorado Springs. Sonic has one location each in the nearby communities of Falcon, Fountain, Security and Woodland Park.