FARGO – Why was a shirtless man camping outside a closed Sonic restaurant?
“It’s, like, my favorite,” said Eric Hanson, a Sonic devotee, on Friday afternoon as he stood next the tent he pitched that was filled with blankets.
Hanson, of Fargo, and more than a dozen others were waiting patiently for today’s 6 a.m. grand opening of Fargo‘s first Sonic at 4470 28th Ave. S.
But they weren’t just waiting because of the food and the roller-skating servers. The Fargo Sonic offered a free year of weekly combo meals to one person from each of the first 13 vehicles that drive in.
When he found out about the opportunity Thursday night, Hanson told good friend and fellow Sonic aficionado Robby Ell of Fargo to drive to the Sonic and wait for him there. They pitched a tent and brought their Nintendo DS game consoles, skateboards, and a worn-out volleyball for entertainment.
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Other vehicles soon pulled up behind Ell’s and Hanson’s motorcycles.
Gina Deibel and Michelle Haarsager, both of West Fargo, pulled up in their cars just in time to snag the 10th and 11th spots before two more cars pulled up behind them.
“I love the roller skates,” Haarsager said, taking a break from playing cards in the back of Deibel’s pickup.
“Oh, and the shakes are amazing,” she added.
The two are no strangers to waiting long periods in line. They’ve camped out for Black Friday shopping opportunities together, and Haarsager has waited in line for a “Twilight” movie premiere.
Matt Gatzke of Fargo secured his eighth spot in line before meeting up with friends Hanson and Ell at the front. Hanson and Gatzke have camped out at the grand openings of HOM Furniture (they got free mushroom chairs) and Scheels here because it’s just something fun to do.
“People yell, ‘Get a job!’ ” Gatzke recalled of some of their previous camping.
“We have jobs!” Hanson replied.
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Ell was supposed to be in school. When Sonic invited him and his friends in for lunch Friday, he enjoyed a Caesar chicken sandwich and a banana split milkshake instead of attending government class – but he didn’t regret his decision.
“Sonic for a year, dude?” he said. “I’d skip school for a week for that.”
Ell said that on a trip two summers ago to Omaha, Neb., with friends, they ate three meals a day at a Sonic for five days.
Suzanne Lindsay, a market leader at Sonic, came out to chat with Hanson and his friends.
“I have opened over 100 drive-ins and I have never seen camping before,” Lindsay said.
People waiting said they had no problems with each other and enjoyed mingling.
“We all kind of trust each other,” Hanson said.
Haarsager said the group would all get together to play some Norwegian golf late Friday.
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“We’re just gonna have a party,” she said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Adrian Glass-Moore at (701) 241-5599
