Carhops Chris Pacheco, 18, of Union City and Hakeem Chatmon, 25, of East Orange serve their first customer this morning at SONIC Drive-In that officially opened in Bayonne Crossing shopping center. Braving wind and rain, Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith joined the Santarelli family this morning to officially open the Bayonne Crossing shopping center's first store, a SONIC Drive-In.
Smith and other public officials huddled under the canopy of the patio to avoid the wind-driven rain and cut the ribbon for the new fast food drive-in at 100 Bayonne Crossing Way, overlooking Route 440 at New Hook Road.
"I am super-excited but soggy," quipped Dina Santarelli, who owns the franchise in Essex and Hudson counties with her father, Tony Sr., and brother, Tony Jr.
The $83 million Bayonne Crossing shopping center is to be anchored by a Lowe's home improvement store and a Wal-mart.
Lowe's is expected to open by the end of December, while Wal-mart should be open in the spring, city officials said.
So far, only the SONIC is fully built in the center that features free-standing stores. The Lowe's building and a LongHorn Steakhouse are partially built.
The 1950s-styke SONIC restaurant allows customers to drive up to a booth in the parking lot, order from an illuminated menu, and have carhops on roller skates deliver food to the window.
At 9 a.m., the SONIC's first official customer -- Christian Mariano, 28, of Linden Way in Bayonne -- rolled into one of the stalls and ordered a bacon cheeseburger and a Jalapeno cheeseburger for himself and his wife, Tiffany, 23, and tater tots for their kids.
Mariano, who was recently discharged from the U.S. Army, didn't need to look at the menu because SONICs are common at army bases, including Fort Hood, Texas, where he served.
"My wife is really excited,'' he told The Jersey Journal. "She sent me to the restaurant at 9 a.m. to get get some food.''
The restaurant, which employs 96 people, has 25 drive-in stalls, a covered patio, ordering stations and a drive-through window.
It offers all-day breakfasts, the restaurant's signature Coney hot-dogs with chili and cheese, burgers, shakes, malts and ice cream.
A portion of today's receipts will be donated to help the Bayonne Police Department raise money for defibrillators, the owners said.
This is the second SONIC to open in Hudson County. The first store opened in North Bergen in mid-October.