Workforce on wheels

UNION GAP -- Fast food is even faster on a pair of roller skates.

As long as you don't fall down. Or drop an order. Or, worse, skate into a vehicle.

Delivering burgers and beverages on wheels takes practice. And that's exactly what 16 newly hired carhops at Yakima's soon-to-open Sonic Drive-In got Thursday afternoon.

Skateland Fun Center offered free roller skating lessons to prepare new employees for the restaurant's grand opening. The training continues today at the roller rink, 2506 Old Town Road.

"I like the whole vibe of it," 16-year-old Amanda Duran said of her new job -- her first -- as a carhop. "Everybody (at school) was talking about it, the first Sonic in Yakima. They're going to want to come see us skate. They might also want to see us fall."

The Yakima Sonic is slated to open the second week of December at Nob Hill Boulevard and South First Street. Construction crews were working at the site Thursday while carhops showed off their skating skills about a mile down the road.

Sporting new uniforms --
bright green and yellow shirts, black aprons and green visors -- they practiced going forward and backward and through cones while carrying trays.

"I think they're doing pretty good, especially for newbies," said Connie Eisenzimmer, who owns Skateland with her husband, Kim. "They're not bad."

But skating usually isn't the problem, according to Kim Dexter, the restaurant chain's regional director. "It's the stopping. The really, really good ones can do almost like slalom skiers: shift, pivot."

Juan Hernandez wasn't intimidated. The 18-year-old Davis High School senior -- one of the four boys who attended Thursday's training -- described himself as a "decent" skater. If he fell down, no biggie: "You can just get up and try again."

Alejandra Orozco, also an 18-year-old Davis senior, wasn't worried, either: "I'm actually going to get paid for skating. It's exciting."

According to its Web site, Sonic is America's biggest drive-in chain, with more than 3,000 stores. But the chain is relatively new to the Northwest. Yakima's Sonic will be the sixth one in Washington.

More than 1 million customers eat at Sonic Drive-Ins every day. But the Oklahoma City-based company doesn't just sell burgers and dogs; it offers customers a slice of Americana.

"It reminds me of the '50s and '60s," Eisenzimmer said. "It's kind of a novelty."

Sonic Drive-Ins don't have dining rooms. Carhops skate orders to customers who remain in their cars -- unless there are "weather-related issues," Dexter said. Then, they wear black, non-slip shoes.

So far, Yakima's Sonic has hired about 40 people. In all, there will be about 85 employees. And 25 to 30 of them will be carhops.

"They could potentially be carrying 25 pounds of food, going through doors, going down a ramp or stepping down a curb, and going to stalls as cars are pulling into the parking lot," said Dexter, who wants to give them plenty of time to practice before the store opens.

"There's the entertainment factor," he said. "The good skaters can do back-flips and actually jump over tables."

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