No, Sonic isn't going into the laundromat or donut business

Plans are under way for a new Sonic Drive-in to be built later this summer near the current restaurant's location at 1700 S. National Ave., company officials said.

The new building will be constructed on a plot of land currently occupied by a building that operated as a laundromat until last month, and a donut shop that will be open for business at its current location until next month, Sonic officials said. Local resident Ron Palmer sold the laundromat in June to R and L Carpenter Enterprises, LLC, a property development company based in Coffeyville.

The property development company, which has leased property to Sonic at its current location since 1974, when Sonic first opened in Fort Scott, also now owns the old laundromat property and will soon own the property currently occupied by Daylight Donuts when it moves to a new location in Fort Scott in mid-August. Construction on the new Sonic building is scheduled to begin at that time, Sonic representative and franchisee John Horn said.

R and L Enterprises will take possession of both properties on August 16, he said.

Horn, who is a partner in the ownership of the local Sonic, said customers will still be able to dine at the current restaurant until shortly before construction on the new building starts.

"We're going to demolish both (buildings) and start over to build a brand new Sonic," Horn said. "Of course, we'll keep the old Sonic until a couple of weeks before construction begins."

Daylight Donuts is moving to a new location at 1514 S. National Ave., a building that is currently undergoing renovation and remodeling before its opening next month. At this time, there is no plan to relocate the laundromat to another building, officials said.

Horn said he had taken a number of telephone calls the last few weeks from area residents asking him about rumors circulating in the community that Sonic had plans to buy the old laundromat and keep it running, since company officials had decided to purchase the property that once operated as Suds Yer Duds, which had been the only laundromat in Fort Scott until it closed.

Horn also said he wanted to address those rumors and clarify that the purchase of the property is for the development of a new Sonic restaurant, and for no other purposes, Horn said.

"We're sorry, I mean we didn't want to inconvenience anyone with the (sale) close, as far as the laundromat goes," he said. "It (laundromat) would be a good business for someone."

Horn added that specifics of the contract to buy the property where the laundromat once stood said that Palmer, a retired businessman, could have kept the laundromat operating until August when R and L Enterprises LLC takes possession of the property.

Palmer, who had owned the laundromat since 1990, told The Fort Scott Tribune that he was concentrating on retirement, and that the sale was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

At that time, Palmer also said the laundromat was not as profitable as the business once was 17 years ago, but that he would be willing to help someone start another laundromat in the future. The sale of the laundromat to R and L Enterprises, LLC closed on June 14.

A story on the closing of the laundromat appeared in a June 28 Tribune story.

The new Sonic will be 24 feet wide and 68 feet long, and will feature 27 drive-in stalls and a patio, Horn said. Crews will install 10 new stalls on the south side of the current restaurant, on the newly purchased property. When the restaurant first opened in 1974 in Fort Scott, it operated with 22 stalls, until about 1992, Horn said.

The new restaurant will also be very similar in design to that of the Sonic Drive-in currently located in Nevada, Mo., and will feature a new electronic sign and other modern upgrades and additions, Horn said.

"We think it will be nice for customers," he said.