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Sonic Drive-In now allows customers to find locations and menu items with new Amazon Alexa skillSonic Drive-In now allows customers to find locations and menu items with new Amazon Alexa skill

Sonic’s new Amazon Alexa functionality lets customers ask where the nearest Sonic is, or about new menu items

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

July 23, 2020

1 Min Read
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Sonic is coming to your Amazon device.Sonic Drive-In

Joanna Fantozzi

Amazon has partnered with Sonic Drive-In to make digital functionality more convenient for Sonic fans with an Amazon Echo or other Alexa device. The new Alexa Skill lets customers ask questions like, “Alexa, ask Sonic for a nearby location,” or “Alexa, ask Sonic what’s new?” The former question will take customers to the “Find a Location” section of the Sonic app, while the “What’s new?” question will point them in the direction of new menu items.

“Alexa for Apps is a natural fit for our mobile strategy as we are always on the lookout for new ways that technology can help us serve our millions of devoted fans better,” Kim Lewis, vice president of digital strategies for Sonic said in a statement. “Hungry consumers make choices quickly and asking Alexa on their mobile device to find nearby Sonic locations and discover new menu items removes friction from the process. In the future, we plan to build on our new custom skill, adding great features to make it even easier for our guests and fans.”

The Amazon Alexa Skill was developed in partnership with Sonic’s digital content agency VaynerMedia, and the Sonic app is available to download via the Apple app store and Google Play store.

Amazon’s Dave Limp made the Nation’s Restaurant News Power List in 2020 for how he has connected restaurants with customers’ Echo devices, like Chipotle which began using Alexa to let customers easily reorder favorite meals last fall. Wingstop, Domino’s and Denny’s also have partnered with Amazon to enable Alexa Skills for ordering food or looking up restaurants.

The Oklahoma City-based, Inspire Brands-owned Sonic Drive-In has 3,500 locations.

Contact Joanna Fantozzi at [email protected]

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About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.  

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine. 

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events. 

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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