Sonic Founder, Troy N. Smith, Sr., Dies at 87

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Troy N. Smith, Sr., the founder of the Top Hat which later became Sonic, America's Drive-In, died Monday, Oct. 26. He was 87.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091027/CG00464)

His daughter, Leslie Baugh, confirmed his death, saying her father had been in declining health recently.

Born in 1922, Smith grew up in the oil patch in east central Oklahoma, attending Mountain View School and Seminole High School. In 1940, he married his sweetheart, Dollie Twiggs, before going into the Army Air Corps in 1943.

After World War II ended, Smith returned to Oklahoma, to Dollie and his two small children, and began driving a milk truck, then a bread truck route as he pursued a desire to own his own business. Between 1948 and 1953, Smith tried his hand at operating various restaurant concepts in Shawnee, Oklahoma, oftentimes while running his bread route. His first was a small diner called The Cottage Cafe. A year later, he sold the Cottage Cafe and opened a larger restaurant called Troy's Grill featuring Troy's Panful O'Chicken. It was a loyal Troy's Grill customer who asked Smith to co-own a root beer stand and convert an old log home into an upscale steak house which was located on the same property. Smith liked the location of the businesses and idea of running a fine dining restaurant.

In 1953 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Smith and his partner were operating the Top Hat root beer stand and the Log House Restaurant. For five years, they ran both restaurants. However, the two concepts had very different economics. Smith learned that high-end restaurants might earn more gross revenue, but profits were limited. In 1955, Smith ended his partnership and got out of the Log House Restaurant. The Top Hat had been the cash cow for the Log House because profit margins were four times greater than those of the steakhouse. Smith eventually put all of his efforts into the root beer stand while discovering a better way to make money in the restaurant business. It was called a drive-in.

An entrepreneur in every way, Smith focused on turning his Top Hat root beer stand into a successful drive-in concept. During this time, he pioneered the use of angled and covered parking, along with an intercom speaker system that allowed customers to place orders from their cars. "Service With the Speed of Sound," became the tagline for the Top Hat.

Over the next six years, Smith, in partnership with Charlie Pappe of Woodward, Oklahoma, opened Top Hats in three other Oklahoma communities, Stillwater, Woodward and Enid. The Top Hat concept took off and the pair found themselves fielding queries from interested entrepreneurs who wanted the chance to run their own businesses. An attempt to copyright the Top Hat name in 1958 failed so Smith and Pappe looked up "speed of sound" in the dictionary and discovered the word "sonic". The first Top Hat to adopt the fledgling chain's new name of Sonic, was the drive-in located in Stillwater. From that point on, Sonic Drive-Ins began popping up in small towns throughout Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Arkansas. Today, there are nearly 3,600 Sonic Drive-Ins located in 42 states.

Smith's entrepreneurial spirit, his pragmatic, no nonsense approach to the business, and his desire to create opportunities for others earned him many friends and admirers over his lifetime. He will be remembered for his generosity and gentle nature. He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Dollie, his daughter, Leslie Baugh, his son, Troy "Butch" Smith, Jr., grandchildren: Ronnie and Chris Baugh, Christi Bercher, Troy Smith, III, Eric, David, Travis and Kyle Smith, and nine great grandchildren.

A memorial service will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30th at the First Christian Church of Edmond, Okla. Donations may be made in Troy's name to the University of Central Oklahoma Foundation, www.ucogiving.org or Integris Health Foundation, 3030 N.W. Expressway, Ste. 1600, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112. Designate Troy & Dollie Smith Wellness Center.

Images are available in Sonic's Newsroom/Media Resources.

    Contact:
    Nancy L. Robertson
    Senior Vice President-Communications
    (c) 405-627-1003