Troy Smith, founder of Sonic Corp., dies

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Troy Smith, the Oklahoma entrepreneur who built a drive-in in Shawnee to the Sonic fast-food chain, has died at 87.

Smith died Monday, The Oklahoman reported.

A World War II veteran, Smith was working as a bread deliveryman when he bought a small restaurant on the outskirts of Shawnee. The restaurant included a small root-beer stand and when Smith discovered the stand was making more money selling hot dogs, hamburgers and root beer than the larger restaurant with its more elaborate menu he renamed it the Top-Hat Drive-In and scrapped the restaurant.

Like Ray Kroc, who built the McDonald's chain and other fast-food entrepreneurs of the 1950s, Smith turned a simple idea into a franchise. He named the chain Sonic a few years later, incorporating the idea of "service at the speed of sound."

Sonic Corp., headquartered in Oklahoma City, now has 3,600 restaurants and about 1 million customers a day.