Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Lewiston

I grew up in Texas enjoying the Sonic brand and when a Sonic opened in Lewiston, Id, close to where I live now my family and I were very excited. The first few weeks we drove the 30 miles down to Lewiston to enjoy what seemed to be a very nice restaurant. That has turned into an exercise in frustration. It has become, without a doubt, the worst franchise shop I’ve ever seen.

There are no set hours, the business seems to close whenever it wants. As I mentioned we sometimes drive the 30 miles only to find the store closing sometimes as early as 8:30pm. The employees are sometimes non-existent, one or two working the rush hour. If you read the Yelp, Facebook comments, or any online comment you will see this is an everyday occurrence. This franchise is giving a good brand a bad name in our area.

Not only are the hours of operation a roll of the dice, so is the menu. On many occasions they run out of some of the menu items. Many years ago, more than I care to admit, I worked in fast food during high school. It was a Texas-based business called Whataburger. Some employees would not want to cook something and would tell customers they were out of said item or the shake machine was down, something along those lines. Those employees were quickly fired. At this Lewiston Sonic is the normal procedure to tell customers that they are “out of something” or “the machine is down or being cleaned”. It’s very common 30 to 45 minutes before closing. When they did post the closing time of 11pm, it has since been removed, they would start closing at 10pm. After 10:15 or 10:30 they would tell you they were closed when the closing time was 11pm. Understand the frustration for a family who just drove 30 miles.

I used to recommend the Lewiston Sonic to all of the people and students at Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Not any more. I can’t, in good faith, send people 30 miles “down the grade” to an establishment who may not be open, who may be “out of food”, “who may be cleaning the shake machine”. As I mentioned earlier, this franchise is killing a good brand, a brand that was once well respected with my “southern”...

Will never order here again. Consistently gets orders incorrect, no matter how you place them: drive thru, door dash, even their own app. ESPECIALLY DO NOT ORDER VIA DOOR DASH: according to several employees they never get the actual order so you have to give them your order anyway when you get there. Ordered DoorDash pickup today (1/28/2024). Received a text from DoorDash saying that Sonic had received and confirmed my order. This was false. Not only did they not have my order, when I told them what I ordered they brought out a medium when we had paid for a large. They remade the item but both employees seemed to think that the missing order issue on DoorDash isn't a problem. Food gets a 2 because even when they get your order correct it isn't very good quality at all. Popcorn chicken has a really bad texture, and the last time I ordered a limeade there it made me violently sick. Took a look at the limes inside and they had a bad odor. Service gets a 2 because there are consistent, constant problems, but they do try to make things right when they inevitably screw something up. Atmosphere gets a 1 because they won't even let you order via car-hop anymore unless you are a DoorDash driver, and you can't eat there anymore. Why would you...

I have always loved eating at Sonic. Delicious food, outdoor dining. What's not to love?

Unfortunately, most of the Sonic's near me have shut down. I have to drive over an hour to get to the closest one. However, my kid lives MUCH closer to this drive in, so we often stop in when I get my visits. I wish that was more often, but that's something I will be dealing with soon.

I found out about 6 months ago that I'm diabetic, so I have to be more conscious of carbs when I eat. I've also been eating a much higher protein diet since then, resulting in me losing 70 lbs (50 since March).

Today I ordered a #4 jalapeno double cheeseburger with no buns and two extra patties. It arrived perfectly cooked and the fries were also spot on. Unfortunately, I didn't know they served unsweetened tea until after I ordered my food, so I got a root beer. I got a tea for my refill though and it was delicious. I will have to remember that for next time.

Unfortunately, today there were a lot of flies out. There's not much Sonic can do about that though, and it certainly isn't their fault. That's the downside of eating outdoors.

In short, would I recommend this location? Absolutely, and I will be eating...