Sonny’s Drive-In up for sale in Waterloo
Fast-food fixture has been serving burgers and hand-chopped fries since opening in 1965
It’s been an oldschool fixture on the region’s fastfood landscape for nearly six decades.
Now, Sonny’s Drive-In — with its burgers, hand-chopped fries and Good Friday fish and chips lineups that stretch down the block — is for sale, with two choices for prospective buyers.
Owner Paul Noussis is offering the Waterloo business on its own for $775,000, or the business and property at 256 Weber St. N., including the diminutive single-storey building and 30 parking spots, for $2,995,000.
Both options probably come with a side of Noussis — he’s willing, if not eager, to lend a hand to a new owner to ensure a smooth transition.
“You don’t want to fix anything that’s not broken,” said Noussis, who’s owned Sonny’s for 13 years after purchasing the business from brothers Bob and George Govanis.
George died in 2018, but Bob still works a few shifts a week at Sonny’s, doing prep work.
“For Bob, it’s a hobby now,” said Noussis, who has about a dozen employees in total. “It’s a big help. People like seeing him.”
The Govanis brothers, along with family members, had run the burger joint since 1970, having acquired it from George’s wife Maria’s brothers, Angelo and John Gikopoulos; they’d bought the new Waterloo Sonny’s franchise in 1965.
In 1966, George Gicopoulos (with a slightly different spelling of his last name) began working there for his uncles after arriving in Canada from Greece. Now, decades on, he’s helping to sell Sonny’s as a realtor.
“I’m a little part of the history of the place as well,” said Gicopoulos, of eXp Realty. “It was crazy busy. We were open until 3 a.m. We would have a lineup from nine o’clock until three o’clock.”
Noussis has been in the restaurant business for more than 35 years, and says it’s time for a change.
“I think my time’s come in this industry,” said the father of three. “I feel like I haven’t had enough time in the last few years to spend time with them. That’s really the driving force.”
His first option is to sell the business and keep the land, “but if someone comes and makes me an offer I can’t refuse for everything,” he’ll sell both.
If the property is sold, both Noussis and Gicopoulos hope there would still be a future for Sonny’s.
“A lot of people who grew up here, went to school here, it’s nostalgic for them,” Noussis said.
“I might have added a few more items, but it’s basically the same from the time I took over,” he added.
“We still dip our own fish and chips, we hand chop our fries, hand dip our onion rings. You’re getting a good portion of food for a good price.”
And even if a new owner thinks everything’s under control, Noussis said he’d probably still turn up to help on a day like Good Friday, when 1,000 pounds of fish goes out the door.
“I’m coming back on those days,” he said with a laugh. “They’ll need it. It’s not something you learn overnight.”