In 1953, Troy Smith purchased an old root beer stand on the outskirts of Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Within the next six years, he perfected a simple but memorable menu and added controlled parking, canopies, music, a carhop, and an innovative system for ordering food over an intercom speaker system. Most importantly, he formed the first of many partnerships that would define a formula for success—shared responsibility and shared profit.

Today, that formula is still at the heart of a dynamic chain of restaurants called Sonic, America’s Drive-In.