This isn’t just a Sonic thing…CT/New England does not embrace fast food culture the way other states in the south and Midwest do.

These jobs are highly looked down on in CT.

There was a time 20+ years ago where promising high school students would take these jobs and had respect and a goal to be good at their job, even if it’s just part time help. The owners were often also the managers and had pride in their business.

This has changed completely. This is not a discriminatory statement, it’s a culture issue.

Many of the fast food restaurants have been acquired by non-Americans in CT. These folks do not grow up in a fast food culture and only purchase the business for monetary gain. Similar to purchasing a gas station. There is (culture wise) no sense of employee engagement. Their belief is that employees are meant to work and complete tasks for their pay. This is also the same for organizations that own multiple locations. Their leadership has no concern for the success of each location, just making sure volume/inventory is correct.

This leads to high turnover and burnout with American employees. And because the jobs themselves are not regarded highly, you are already dealing with individuals who do not want to be at that job.

Chic Fil A’s model is respectable in that they only sell one location to one owner. The Owner is expected for that to be their full time job. This is why Chic Fil A always feels polite, clean, and quick. The owner is very close by and invested and engaged in its success.

This is not the same when you go to other parts of the US. The positions are still respected (in some places) because opportunities are not as easily available. So you still pull from a base of applicants with skill.

The best bet is to let these fast food restaurants go out of business up here. A new wave of restaurants will take their place and the owners will have to be vested in their success because they won’t have a standard model that you roll out