CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- With the opening of the doors at noon, the Buffalo area went from being an hour away from the nearest location to being home to what managers say is the largest Sonic in the country.
"Yeah we go to Rochester for it," said Cameron Young.
You've seen the commercials. Maybe you even made the drive to check it out, but as of Thursday, it's come to Cheektowaga to stay. The latest Sonic opened its doors on Union Road. at noon and fans were ready.
Young and his friends arrived at 7:45 AM and say they were first in line for service at the car port. And the wait? Worth it.
"I knew the expectations and the mayhem was going to be crazy today, so I wanted to be number one," said Young.
A manager said 100 cars were in line for the car port about two hours after the doors opened. The line for the dining room wrapped around the building in the early afternoon.
Many people we talked to said this was going to be their first Sonic experience.
"I've been waiting for Sonic to come to Buffalo forever. I was so excited and said we had to go as soon as it opened, and here we are," said Kirstin Heffler while waiting in line.
Leon Nelson said he'd been craving Sonic since moving to Buffalo from Oklahoma, and he didn't mind the 45-minute wait in line.
"Foot-long coney, chili cheese tater tots, Rt. 44 cherry limeade slushie. That's me," said Nelson. "Oh, I'm ready."
However, there are reasons aside from the food that make the opening exciting. The restaurant brings with it 95 jobs. It's also the chain's biggest location in the country.
"They've never done anything like this as far as an indoor dining facility," said manager Nathan Murray. "Everything that we're doing here is brand new. It's a learning experience for us as well as Sonic."
The restaurant will be open seven days a week.