Kahuku-bred former NFL Baltimore Raven Ma‘ake Kemoeatu plans to open the first Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Hawaii in 2018 and has committed to opening seven in the islands.
Kemoeatu, 37, will be working with his brother, Chris, 33, on the venture. Each brother played for the Kahuku Red Raiders, went to the University of Utah and earned Super Bowl wins during their NFL days — Ma‘ake in 2013 with the Ravens, and Chris in 2006 and 2009 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We both felt it was time, after leaving football behind, to take off our helmets and put on our business hats,” Ma‘ake Kemoeatu said.
Sonic Drive-In serves burgers, hot dogs, chicken, breakfast items, snacks and side orders including their signature Tots, shakes and other ice cream desserts.
Some 90 percent of the 3,500 drive-in locations bearing the 62-year-old chain’s name are owned by local franchisees.
“We will start with seven on the islands, mostly on Oahu, then Maui,” said Bob Franke, Sonic Corp. vice president of offshore development. Hawaii is Sonic’s 46th state for expansion, beating Alaska, where a franchise agreement is in the works.
“We’re very close to having Sonic in all states, but we’re not quite there yet,” he said, citing also-Sonic-less Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.
For Hawaii, Ma‘ake Kemoeatu and his partners in North Shore Provisions Corp. “will be the center point … for the growth of Sonic in the islands,” Franke said.
Ma‘ake Kemoeatu is “super excited” and grateful “to be the one to bring it to Hawaii,” he said. The process has taken 18 to 19 months, and “it’s been a journey” with Kemoeatu family members as well as investor-partners he declined to name “doing the heavy lifting,” he said.
The time of tempting television commercials taunting local taste buds will be over as Sonic’s signature carhops on roller skates bring food to diners in their cars.
Ma‘ake Kemoeatu won’t be the one training the roller-skating carhops, however. He recalled trying skates when he was perhaps 3 years old, quickly eschewing wheeled footwear for football cleats.
However, he is well aware of the nostalgia of old-school drive-ins, carhops and car clubs that frequented such establishments as Andy’s Drive-In in Kailua or, going way back, the old Kau Kau Korner at Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, circa 1940s.
“I’m still too young, but my uncles used to tell me about drive-ins. Those used to be the ‘in’ thing, and we want to bring some of that history back,” Kemoeatu said.
Ma‘ake and Chris Kemoeatu made news in 2014 when they revealed that Ma‘ake had given Chris a kidney to help save his life and address one of a number of the younger brother’s health problems.
Given the one healthy kidney each sibling has, “we are at higher risk, but at the same time we have to be smart about our health,” Ma‘ake Kemoeatu said.
The Kemoeatu Brothers Foundation was formed to support student athletes and fight against obesity in Hawaii, partially through education and making “smart choices,” he said, noting that Hawaii is among the healthiest states in the U.S.
While lease agreements are pending, the partners are looking at Kapolei, Kakaako and other areas for the first two Sonic locations, Ma‘ake Kemoeatu said.
The entire Sonic menu is available from opening to closing, which can range from 5:30 a.m. to past midnight depending on location. Customers drive up, push a red button and see a video screen displaying items to order. Locations typically have 16 to 30 stalls for cars to drive in and order food, with 25 to 75 seats for sit-down dining.
“We are very creative with properties, and we’ve done a lot of conversions” of buildings, especially in urban areas, “which we’re looking at as well in Honolulu,” Franke said.
About 100 employees, a mix of full-time and part-time, will be hired for the first location, he said.
