Our Founder: Leon Irons
It all started in 1962, when a young man fresh out of the Navy, and newly married to his high school sweetheart, got a job washing dishes at Sambos Restaurants. It wasnt long before this ambitious young man, learned that the harder he worked and the more skills he learned, the more money he could make. This simple idea motivated him. It wasnt long before he moved from cook, to store owner/manager, to regional manager, to territory director, and finally to Sambos Regional Operations Vice President in 1977. During which, he directed operations of two hundred units in the Southeastern United States with $140 million in sales and $16 million in profits.
In 1979, He became president and COO of Vicorp Restaurants, which operated 300 Village Inn Family Restaurants. During which time, he was instrumental in growing profits and acquiring 69 Popin Fresh and 150 Sambos restaurants. He then accepted a position as Executive VP/COO of Perkins Restaurants in 1985 and increased sales 36% and profits 233% from 1986 to 1988. Then in 1991, Leon Irons branched out on his own and became a Sonic Drive-In Franchisee. He, along with his son and daughter-in-law, opened their first Sonic Drive-In on Broad River Road. Today, the Irons Group owns and operates 85 Sonic Drive-Ins. And even though Leon passed away in 2009, his idea that partners who own and work in the business should financially benefit directly from their hard work is the principle that guides us still today.
Our President/COO: Michael Irons
Mike started in the restaurant business as early as eight years old when Leon, his Dad, would let him cook at the Sambos he owned and managed. Before Mike was out of high school, he began working as a busser, cook, and finally food production manager for Sambos. In 1981, He became the manager of a low performing Village Inn in Denver Colorado, where he quickly became ranked #14 in Sales increase, #3 in Labor Costs, and #3 in Profit increase among the 85 corporate owned Village Inn Restaurants.
He was then promoted to Village Inns Regional Director of the Nebraska/Iowa region. Again, Mike had tremendous success and was well positioned to move up the corporate ladder. But like his father, Mike had an entrepreneurial spirit and so in 1991, joined Leon in opening the first Columbia Sonic Drive-In in 1991.
Our Company Today
Since our first store in Columbia, we have grown to 85 stores and close to 3,500 employees. In Columbia, we have 21 stores and our 22nd store is to open in Camden in May 2012. We also expanded into Lexington, Kentucky when we purchased 16 stores in May of 2003 and 5 more stores in Northern Kentucky in 2011. Then in 2007, we purchased 18 stores in the Greensboro, North Carolina area. And finally, in 2009, we purchased 22 stores in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area. Our corporate office is located in Columbia, SC at 5623 Fairfield Road.
The IRONS Group was founded on a simple philosophy that Leon Irons, our founder, developed early in life. He believed that people will work harder and achieve more success if they directly benefit from their hard work.
While growing up in California, one of Leon’s first jobs was out in the fields harvesting peaches. There were two jobs he could choose from, a picker and a swamper. A picker was the person that picked the peaches from the trees. A “picker” was paid based on the number of baskets he filled with peaches. A swamper was the person that collected the baskets of peaches from the “pickers” and put them on the truck. A swamper was paid a fixed amount every day. Leon wanted to be a picker because he knew he could pick peaches quickly and would make more money.
This “picker” attitude is one of the cornerstones that our group is founded upon. Our directors, supervisors, and managers are given the opportunity to buy into owning a fraction of the business they control, and as such, directly financially benefit from their hard work each month. This entrepreneurial spirit is what attracts many of our partners to our group, and the financial rewards they enjoy as a result of their hard work are what keeps them happy as partners in our business for years and years.
Awards
Business
Sonic Industries
1992 Newcomer Franchisee of the Year
Leon Irons
Sonic Industries
1997 New Product Innovation for the Lemon Drop Slush
Michael Irons
Sonic Industries
2004 Turnaround Operator of the Year
Michael Irons
Best of Columbia
As vote by Readers of Columbia Metropolitan Magazine
Sonic Drive-In
1996 Best Soft Drink
The State Newspaper
Readers Choice
Sonic Drive-In
The Best of 2002
Best Place for a Milkshake
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