The new Sonny’s Real Pit BBQ on Archer Road broke ground on Friday to kick off the first of many rebuild projects for the restaurant’s new look across the country.
The construction for the new building will take place for the next six to eight months in front of the current location, but won’t begin for another few weeks. It will incorporate new technology and establish a fresh, new image for the restaurant chain.
The existing Sonny’s restaurant will remain open until construction is complete on the prototype, said Dominic Losacco, the vice president of marketing for Sonny’s.
The general manager of the store, Shannon Snell, said he believes the excitement of the new store will help business both after it opens and in the coming months with the current store. He has been with Sonny’s for six years and said the excitement among management has been “off the charts” since the news was announced.
“I can’t believe this day is finally here,” Snell said. “We’ve been talking about it for so long that nobody thought it would actually happen.”
He said the current store has limitations due to its age, but the new building will open up a wide range of potential innovations.
Although Snell said he did not know all the details about possible improvements, he did say there will be an outdoor patio area along with “big smokers” outside near the entrance where customers can watch the food being cooked.
Deborah Bowie, vice president of chamber development for the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, said seeing a homegrown restaurant chain reach prominence, then start its new era back in Gainesville is very rewarding.
“If you’re a chamber, that’s your proudest moment,” she said.
She also said she believes the construction of a new business is a good visual image for locals.
The Archer Road prototype will serve as a model for other Sonny’s restaurants, which will either be renovated and adapted to the new model or torn down and rebuilt. The goal is for every Sonny’s across the country to be rebranded – except one.
“We plan on leaving the Waldo Road location as is, to memorialize it,” Losacco said.
The Sonny’s location at 2700 NE Waldo Road is the original Sonny’s restaurant, founded by Floyd “Sonny” Tillman in 1968. While no renovations are planned there, Losacco said some classic pictures may be hung to help commemorate its history.
Proprietors break ground on the new Sonny's Real Pit BBQ prototype that will be built on Archer Road, outside of the current Sonny’s on Friday.
