An Everyday American Dream
In 1953, Troy Smith, the founder of SONIC and World War II veteran, was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Troy's dream was to own his own business. In fact, he had already tried his hand at running a restaurant...twice.

Troy's first venture was a tiny diner with 12 stools and four booths called the Cottage Cafe. It was barely large enough to make a living for his wife and two children. He sold it and bought a bigger place.

Troy's Panful of Chicken was so successful that Troy tried opening more of them. Unfortunately, the fried chicken concept didn't fly in early 1950s Oklahoma, and Troy's Panful of Chicken faded quietly away.

What didn't fade was Troy's desire to own a restaurant. His ultimate dream was to run a fancy steak house in Shawnee. And, for a while, he did.

The Fateful Glass Of Root Beer
The lot where Troy's steak house sat also had a root beer stand. Troy meant to tear it down to add more parking for the steak house. Until he got around to it, he figured the root beer stand could make him a little extra pocket change.

In a twist of fate, the humble Top Hat Drive-In, as the root beer stand was called, proved to be more profitable, and outlasted the steak house.

The Top Hat was like other root beer stands of the era. It was a cash business, serving easily-prepared hamburgers and hot dogs cooked-to-order. Customers would park on the lot and order at the walk-up window. They could eat on a picnic table or in their cars. The Top Hat was moderately successful, averaging $700 per week. Not bad for pocket change!

Ever the entrepreneur, Troy continued to look for ways to improve the business. Yet, he could not have predicted that his improvements would earn him a place in American fast-food history.

The Jukebox Boys
While traveling in Louisiana, Troy saw homemade intercom speakers at a hamburger stand that let customers order right from their cars. A light bulb went on in Troy's head. He contacted the innovator in Louisiana and asked him to make an intercom for the Top Hat.

Troy hired some local electronics wizards, whom he called the "jukebox boys," to install the speaker system at his drive-in. He also added a canopy for cars to park under and hired servers to deliver food directly to customers' cars. "Carhops," as the servers were called, was a moniker from the early days of drive-in restaurants, when servers jumped onto the running boards of early-day automobiles driving onto the lot and directed them to their parking spots. Troy Smith now had the prototype of the future SONIC.

The first week after the new intercom was installed, the Top Hat took in $1,750!

It was 1954. The first Chevrolet Corvettes were rolling off the assembly line. Space-age technology and "Carhops" had come to Oklahoma.

A New Partner
Over in Woodward, Oklahoma, Charlie Pappe was managing the local Safeway supermarket. He wanted to get out of the grocery business and start his own restaurant.

While visiting friends in Shawnee, Charlie stopped by the Top Hat for dinner. Charlie had never met Troy Smith, but he was so impressed with the whole concept and operation that he went and introduced himself. Charlie opened the second Top Hat Drive-In on May 18, 1956, in Woodward, Oklahoma.

Top Hat Drive-Ins were a big hit with both customers and businessmen. By 1958, there were Top Hat Drive-Ins in Shawnee, Woodward, Enid and Stillwater, Oklahoma. Although more entrepreneurs wanted in on their success, only four Top Hats were ever opened.