Lets face it, starting a business in Howe hasn’t been an automatic gold mine over the last 50 years. But one restaurant has done well in the small city even in the economic downturn a few years back. With sound experienced management, Sonic in Howe is now reaping the rewards and about to upgrade the facilities by $90,000.
Back in 2005, before the concrete was even poured, Tashawna Sanders walked up to the construction site looking for a job.
“I remember walking on little piles of wood trying to get to the front door.” said Sanders. “Matt Acevedo was here then and he hired me.”
Sanders went from walking to the store to get a job as a carhop to later becoming Sonic’s general manager at the young age of 21. Currently, she’s a partner with 21 percent share of Sonic in Howe.
“It’s not something they give out. They really have to trust you and you have to put in a lot for them to even offer you to buy a share.” said Sanders. She had previously worked at Milano’s Pizza restaurant in Howe and then worked at the family restaurant that opened up soon after. She then got a job at Sonic in Van Alstyne as a carhop just before coming to Howe.
“I’ve never quit. I’ve never left.” said Sanders. “I’ve been here since day one, through all of the ups and downs.”
Sanders is a strong-willed woman with high expectations of herself and the 2005 Howe High School graduate hasn’t spent her life traveling the easy road.
“I had my first child at the age of 15.” said Sanders. “I was out to prove everybody wrong. The stigma of being a pregnant teen is that you’ll never graduate and you’ll never amount to anything and you’ll have seven kids before you turn 21 and all that. I was out to show those people that wasn’t true. You can go through the worst of the worst and it’s your choice to decide whether you want to be a good person or a bad person.”
When Sanders became a shareholder in the local Sonic, she then knew what her life would be like day-in and day-out. She still puts in 10-hour workdays, six days a week and is on-call 24-7.
“I enjoy it. I still love coming to work after these ten years.” said Sanders who does everything from manage and pay all of the bills to help with the staff. She says that she’s learned to be a do-it-yourself maintenance woman who tries to take care of everything internally before shelling out resources.
In 2007 and ’08, Sanders pointed as the most difficult time with the store due to only two managers.
“We literally didn’t get a day off for six months.” said Sanders. “At that point, this was not something I was interested in doing. But my feet were already plunged into the water pool so I just had to stick it through and keep faith.”
Upon entering the plan as a shareholder, she had to pay a $430 note payment for that percentage.
“It was your goal every month to have a profit in the partnership.” said Sanders.
About the same time as Sanders had to start making the partnership payments, the great housing market collapse happened and the country fell into a deep recession. The remnants of the effect it had on Howe can still be seen in the lack of homes in the developed Summit Hill neighborhood.
“That was the hardest time. Not seeing any end in sight. But you know what? you have to do this. This is what feeds your children. You have to suck it up and work.” said Sanders.
Sanders says that the best part of her job is knowing that she’s here to help people try to get a start in life.
“I’m a people person and I genuinely care about strangers.” said Sanders. “People will come in and give you a sob story and you can tell right off-the-bat that it’s not going to work. But I’m the person that gives them a chance to prove themselves right or wrong.”
Sanders has five employees that have been there for over six years. There are another two that have been at Sonic in Howe for nearly two years.
“We have a core group of eight people, which isn’t a lot.” said Sanders. “So we work our butts off. These carhops do everything. They make all of the drinks, bag all of the food, and then clean everything.”
The most popular food item at Sonic in Howe is the double meat cheeseburger followed by any chicken item.
Sanders estimates that the cherry limeades and ocean water are the most popular drinks. It is estimated that in the 10 years, over 108,000 cherry limeades have been sold at the Sonic in Howe. She also claimed that massive amounts of Diet Coke have gone through the store as well.
When talking about the ten year milestone, Sanders said that she hasn’t made a big deal of it because she’s been so busy.
“I honestly just work.” said Sanders. “I go home and I have three kids and I try my hardest to let my kids understand that mom has to work, but also has time for them too.”
Through the hard work and years of not making a profit from her shares, Sanders has now paid off the note that was $430 per month and will now own 21 percent of the store for the rest of her life.
“All of that hard work is now, 10 years later, starting to pay off.” said Sanders.
Howe customers will soon reap the benefits of those dividends with a massive upgrade to the site. The $90,000 project includes the updating of all of the menus to the digital stalls as in Sherman.
“You’ll see your order come up on the screen like Braum’s or McDonalds.” said Sanders. “Eventually the technology will allow the regulars to wave their phone at the screen and it will identify that person and ask them if they want their regular item or something different.”
The credit card process outside will be much improved with new technology and new processing. Inside the store, they will also get new screens and the attendents will have new headpieces to wear.
“It’s supposed to make the everyday procedures smoother which will make the customers more happy.” said Sanders.
The outside will cost less in Howe than other locations because there are only 11 stalls in Howe compared to over 20 at larger Sonic restaurants. The new menu boards are approximately $5,000 each.
Sanders wanted to end the great debate on tipping at Sonic. She said that it can be confusing because some Sonics are different than others. In Howe, the employees are paid minimum wage to do their job, so they don’t necessarily live on tips.
“It’s a personal preference.” said Sanders. “It’s not always because they did a good job. Sometimes people will tip because a carhop was so nice to them. Most of tips comes from the fact that people are just genuinely nice to people. We know that people will take their bad days out on us. That’s just the way it is. We just try to make them smile. For my guys, a tip is great because they are literally working and working hard.”
Sanders understands that Sonic will not forever be the only fast-food location in Howe, but have been the beneficiary of the 10-year head start on anyone new that does come to Howe. One thing is for sure, it will be very unlikely for anyone to outwork her. The determined girl has fought through adversity and has chosen to be a good person.
