Roger Fries was the Sandy's Supervisor (District Manager) of most of Missouri. Starting with Sandy's right out of college, he had a successful career in one of the greatest restaurants of all time. Being a Sandy's supervisor allowed him to travel and visit many different locations. As a result, he is able to provide inside information into the Sandy's locations which were under his watch.
Mr. Fries reveals the background of two of Sandy's powerhouse locations and why they were so successful. He also drops a shockbomb on this website by providing pictures of a Sandy's Missouri menuboard which he saved from destruction when Sandy's flipped to Hardees! None were known to exist!!! Absoluetly stunning!!!! Thank you Mr. Fries! Also note that the readerboard, which was damaged during demolition and is missing letters, is presenting the Deluxe Sandee and the Sandee Junior! The Deluxe Sandee was a take off on the Deluxe Hardee. Sandy's and Hardees were merging together as a partnership starting in 1971 and this was one of the results. Eventually Hardees bought out Sandy's in 1973 and the name change was complete. This is a historic time period in the life of Sandy's drive-in.
Sandy's Columbia, Missouri #1, 18 N. Providence, Columbia, Missouri was known as a "downtown" location. By 1968, a few downtown locations such as Peoria were popping up in non-conventional buildings. Mr. Fries explains here what this "downtown" Sandy's was all about. He also reveals that two of the last ever Sandy's locations turned out to be two of the best, dollar volume wise!
I started working at Sandy's in Stillwater, OK, in 1967, while attending OSU. Became manager in Cedar Rapids, IA in 1969, transferred to Columbia, MO in 1971, and 'retired' as DM in 1978. This site brought a ton of memories and names that I have not seen or heard in years. Thanks for the memories!
The 'Downtown' store in Columbia was actually a free standing unit, not a storefront, with its own parking lot, etc. The stores in Columbia and Jefferson City were conversions from a small chain called KUKU Burger Bar, based in Lawrence, KS. The KU stood for Kansas University. The buildings were small, inefficient, and outdated from the day they opened in August, 1971. They were, however, well located, and two of the three were often in the top twenty volume units in the monthly "Total Pole" that was sent out from Kewanee.
Once again, thank you for the pictures of the now some three and one-half decade old readerboard. Incredible!
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Columbia, Missouri or elsewhere, please email me!