Dave and Theresa Gulizia, with their children Dawson, age 4, and Madison, age 7, sit outside of their new Sonic restaurant, happy that it is finally open for business.

Sonic restaurant adds

to the growing

Gretna business

community

by Darlene Hollwager

Staff Writer

Dave Gulizia is part of a family that has been in the convenience store business a long, long time. He is well versed in the setup and operation of this type of business, having grown up with it. When he and his family moved to Gretna to manager the Speedee Mart, it was old territory to him, and he eventually bought the business.

A Sonic restaurant seems, at first glance, to be a step out of the familiar for Gulizia, but it really isn't. Gulizia and his wife Theresa are part-owners of Got Food, Inc., which Gulizia and his brother Tom run. They have had a Sonic in Auburn for three year, so it really is familiar territory.

"We had a Sonic in the plans for Gretna 18 months ago," stated Gulizia. "We felt there was opportunity to be successful with it, since there wasn't a fast food place in Gretna with the extended menu we carry."

Their first step was contacting RTR Enterprises, which owns the property where Sonic sets. The two had to work out how a Sonic would fit in the plans for developing the rest of the property and reach an agreement.

Highway access was given to RTR Enterprises at the time Standing Stone was developed, only because the land they owned was separate from Standing Stone. However, when a Sonic was proposed, the state said they didn't have access because of limited access rules on a highway. RTR showed the agreement they had made with the state to have use of an entry off of the highway. The state then found their copy and the project proceed.

The next step was contacting Sonic's corporate offices. They sent people to observe the site and location and perform a demographics study. Once that was approved, a long-term lease was signed, with RTR Enterprises, and the architectural drawings were started.

Stated Gulizia, "The inside of the building is the same as other Sonics, but corporate offers options for the outside and we took those options to another level."

Corporate was so impressed with what Gulizia did with the outside design, that they are looking at using that design for their new restaurants.

The application process for permits from the city of Gretna went smoothly. Overland Constructors was hired as the contractor and they did the job in 67 working days.

"Even with all the rain we had this spring, they stayed on schedule," commented Gulizia. "They did a great job for us."

Next came the hiring process. A local girl, Jenny Bazer, was hired as the manager; and Mary Ekstrom, from Ashland, was hired as assistant manager. Bazer had worked for Gulizia for a few years at Shell Speedee Mart.

Sonic has 78 employees total, which makes them the third largest employer in Gretna. Of the 78, 60 plus are Gretna High School students.

The managers received a 14-week extensive training program. They spent 12 weeks in Salina, Kan, at a Sonic, one week in Oklahoma City, and one week in Omaha.

The other employees had five days of training prior to opening. The A-Team, corporate trainers, spent seven days at the restaurant, five training employees and two helping to set up.

Opening day was July 2, with a soft opening, meaning the opening was not advertised, to give employees a chance to hone their skills.

"The work environment in a Sonic is very fast paced," explained Gulizia.

Gulizia said he just put "Now Open" on the marquee and people started coming in. "Our soft opening wasn't very 'soft,'" commented Gulizia. "Our computer went down that first day and our drive-thru speaker quit working that first week."

All was not lost, as their opening day sales exceeded corporate predicted numbers. Summer hours are 6 a.m. until midnight. They always open at 6 a.m., but winter closing hours will be adjusted accord to how busy they are, perhaps 10 or 11 o'clock, according to Gulizia.

"We have a good breakfast," said Gulizia, " a better lunch than anticipated, and the largest portion of our business is dinner, from 5 until midnight."

The Gretna Sonic restaurant is in the family corporation, with the Gulizia's as managing partners.

The Gulizia's moved to Gretna in 2001, when Dave became manager of the Short Stop. When the company he worked for changed gas suppliers, from Texaco to Shell, the business name changed to Shell Speedee Mart. The Gulizia's purchased the convenience store in 2005.