Lorenzo Bada didn’t eat outside of the house much as a kid. Burgers also weren't commonplace in his half-Italian, half-French family.
Yet nearly 20 years ago, he purchased Sonny’s Drive-In -- a mom-and-pop burger joint in Brampton -- established in 1964.
“One of my first jobs was at a Wendy's when I was 14 years old,” Bada told CTV News Toronto. “I never thought one day I would actually own a place that would compete with it.”
Originally, Sonny’s had 10 locations, but now, the Brampton location is the only one left in the Greater Toronto Area.
“These types of places are definitely a dying breed,” Bada said. But, he believes they are worth fostering -- particularly now.
As McDonald’s and A&W locations multiply, Bada has only refined his focal point. “I just wanted to focus on the location I have,” he said.
“Sometimes bigger isn't better.”
During the brief chatter as a customer waits for their charcoal grilled burger to be topped with pickles or onions, there is a meaningful moment that takes place between a customer and a staff member – 80 per cent of whom have worked at Sonny’s for over a decade.
“Everyone has been in a shell in the last two years, I think people appreciate the one-on-one conversation,” Bada said. In his eyes, that is what keeps loyal customers coming. “Without those customers, none of us would be here.”
But during that two-year timespan, one of the hurdles the business has faced as a late-night eats joint, which typically sees 40 per cent of their business after 11 p.m., has been recouping that loss.
Typically, their parking lot would swell from empty to full with 50 to 60 people in a line stretching out the door around 2:30 a.m. and their picnic tables full until 4 a.m. “I couldn’t believe the percentage of the business after 11 p.m.”
Whether it’s a couple grabbing fresh cut fries after a movie, or bar-goers soaking up the night with greasy poutine, Sonny’s was the spot.
Just this month, the business began inching back to their normal hours after two years of closing at 9 p.m. Now, they are keeping their doors open until midnight Thursday to Sunday.
“I don't think those 3 a.m. days will ever go back,” Bada said.
“I have come to accept that the world has changed and we have to be happy with what we have right now.”
