Hey La Plata ready to get your Sonic fix? The Sunoco station at Route 301 and 6 will be coming down soon to make way for the new Sonic location. Construction will begin very soon and we will see an opening later this year. As soon as they give me a grand opening date I will post it here.
Just a horrible location like the one in Waldorf. They really shouldn't have approved them going in to such a small place in either location. Major mistake on the part of the franchise and the county in both cases.
ReplyDeleteIf they have entrance/exit from Rt 6, it will be a traffic nightmare. And located right next to the hotel - not a good idea either. Not exactly a great place.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much available for sale directly on the highway that would be usable for them and had water and sewer. The size of the land is exactly what their plans required. The county has no say in telling them their place is too small. The county and state highway would tell them if they needed to make changes to the entrances and exits. Whats wrong with a hotel next door?
ReplyDeleteI think that person is concerned about that hotel and it's reputation
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteIt is hard enough coming out of the shopping center across the street to turn on RTE 6. Why the in world would you put it there????
ReplyDeleteConsidering the size of a Sonic, this is a horrible location. The Waldorf Sonic is small, the one in Lexington Park is a little bigger. The Fredericksburg Sonic is huge as they should be. Just sayin, they should've put it elsewhere, not enough room!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the placement of the Sonic at this corner at all. I can see accidents and traffic backups like crazy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I must be the anomaly but why does everyone like Sonic so much? Overpriced fast food.
And what happened to no more drive thrus in La Plata?
ReplyDeleteall sound like the same people about walmart. want one but not in our area, cry babies.
ReplyDeleteWorst idea ever. The location sucks. Too small, too much traffic. And sonic isn't that great anyway. Why do we need one in Waldorf AND La plata. If someone really likes sonic that much they will make the drive to Waldorf for overpriced mediocre food. And there is already too much fast food places in LA plata anyway. Build something we actually need like a recreational fun place for kids to play.
ReplyDeleteThey went in for a special exception to La Plata to do a drive thru and they approved it. Better than a gas station that could possible contaminate the grounds if the tanks ever leaked.
ReplyDeleteHey it was the best they could find. Why do we have two McDonalds within sight of each other?
People in La Plata want to avoid Waldorf.
Why not build it further down (south)? You have the former Good Times (I think that's what it was called) location which would be perfect. You need restaurants (yes, even drive thru fast food) and gas stations (like a WAWA) further south...everyone in Cobb Island has so long of a drive to get to anything. Heard the former WhiteHouse/Rise & Shine Inn is being turned into a homeless shelter. Are you kidding!???????????????????
ReplyDeleteTrying to do anything past route 6 is very difficult. There is no public water and sewer which is why its not developed further down Crain highway. Wawa and Sheets both told me that there is not enough traffic and there is no sense to put one farther down 301 because people will pass it to go to VA and get cheap cigarettes and gas.
ReplyDeleteYes there is a group turning the motel into rooms for people that are homeless. Those places have been empty for years I don't see anything wrong with it as long as its kept up. All those buildings down there are falling apart. They needed to do something with them.
Yes it's better than a gas station but there are certainly better placement options. I understand that land is expensive in the area but the locations they chose are poor beyond belief. They are leaving money on the table because they can't really handle the volume they could potentially do at those locations. Do you think we will see a Sheetz in the area at some point?
ReplyDeleteVery poor location. It will be a traffic nightmare and that hotel is disgusting.
ReplyDeleteYou people just like to complain. A month or 2 after it opens, once the hype dies down, it'll be exactly how it is now. Remember how bad Roy Roger's was when it came back? Quit looking for stuff to get upset about.
ReplyDeleteThere is just so much going on at that intersection. On the Port Tobacco side you have the shopping center, Starbucks(which is a nightmare getting in and out of and crowded), the church, ANS is right there(with it's own AM and PM issues Mon-Fri). I am not sure there is a a better way to configure the mess there. It takes forever to get out of the shopping center if you need to get to 301. It's almost easier to go the other way, turn around and come back. The issue with the hotel is that the clientele there are not what you'd call reputable. There is a lot of criminal activity and residents there, not so much a hotel as temporary housing. Keep in mind too the horrendous traffic issues there were in Waldorf opening week. It will be crowded, there will be accidents, and it will be a mess.
ReplyDeleteShit location. That intersection can already be crazy sometimes! Why don't you people focus on building and fixing roads rather than commercialization?? You know how bad the road is worn at that intersection at the stoplights from the heavy traffic and the large trucks?
ReplyDeleteGo put it in White Plains or over near Rosewick or near Mitchell Road.
I wish Laplata would attract more desirable businesses. There's an abundance of fast food restaurants and chain restaurants. The hotel is an eye sore and many shopping areas could be revitalized. Laplata is losing its charm and becoming more like Waldorf as the years pass. We should encourage businesses that promote a healthy lifestyle to be a part of our community.
DeleteTried to get the hotel to sell but hes saving it for retirement.
ReplyDeleteWho is you people? We have nothing to do with roads. That's the States job. We are not associated with them or the county.
Same crowd as usual...complaining about anything and everything. If you don't like Sonic, or any other business for that matter, then don't go! The market will decide. Not the NIMBY crowd.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping us posted on these developments Chris. I am noticing that you are almost being jumped on for delivering the news.
ReplyDeletePeople have to vent. I try not to take it personally. There are a lot of factors that go into picking a site. The average person does not do it on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI always like seeing people complain, which is your right to do, but the simple fact is most are not understanding the business climate in Charles County. Statistically we have everything possible to develope a great business core but the county is unwilling to do a whole lot. This is due to the commissioners wanting a lot more from developers or wanting something that may be unattainable.
ReplyDeleteThe light rail situation is one of these things. This will probably not happen unless there is a massive tax increase and the county picks up the tab. Ideally a developer would see this as an investment and construct it.
As far as Sonic, they are currently and thru observation, very few locations hiring teenagers. I see more teenagers doing nothing and can potentially cause 'problems' that we will all complain about.
As far as Walmart, I understand the controversy but if they don't build in the county they will move a half mile up to Brandywine thus giving PG county the tax dollars.
Thanks for the updates Chris. I was also concerned about the traffic issues when the Sonic in Waldorf opened. It was bad for weeks but now everything is much calmer.
ReplyDeleteLaPlata is still very nice and not nearly as congested with fast food drive thrus like Waldorf. If we want more nice sit down restaurants county residents need to take that up with their commissioners! The county needs more high paying white collar jobs that attracts nicer restaurants. It will also mean more people and traffic.
As a county we have to decide if we want to stay small with little development or go big. But as the county track record has shown, our political leaders have not developed a coherent plan to address either option. Hopefully that will change otherwise we will continue to see our young residents who graduate from college keep moving to Northern Virginia where they are on top of the business game.
Do you go through Waldorf much? I go through there at 6 a.m and then at 7 or 8 p.m. Traffic is horrible. LaPlata's gonna be just as bad if not worse when the Sonic is finished. Charles County's getting too built up...
DeleteAny word on what's going in around Harris Teeter in California, MD? Also, what's happening next to Cracker Barrel and the movie theater area?
ReplyDeleteHeard recently that the repair for the Nice/301 Bridge has now once again been put on hold. Does the state, county, whomever realize what's happening. God forbid a higher up's family member be on that bridge when it collapses...think of the nightmare. Just like the Sonic...it's going to be a headache for everyone just like the one in Waldorf but...we've gotta accept it or get out of Charles County. Wait, we can't...traffic is too bad...I have an idea, fix the bridge, make a bypass from Brandywine through Waldorf and LaPlata and we'll be able to avoid all this craziness. There should be a better forum location for commenting on this craziness. And one of the comments earlier questioned why not put the Sonic over by the old Mitchell's...why not...isn't that where the "super Walmart" was supposed to go but now nothing's going there....
ReplyDeleteRush hour traffic is always going to be a bad time. Its a major highway.
ReplyDeleteMoney has been put aside for the bridge. It is not going to fall down it just needs to be bigger. There also has to be agreements in place with Virginia about the road on their side. Its a long process. Concepts for bypasses were conceived and shown to the public some time ago but they ran thru wetlands and they all emptied out in La Plata and that was a bad idea. The idea was shelved soon after. We were supposed to have a cross county connector from 210 to rt 5 but some of your commissioners and the army core of engineers killed it.
Ya'll need to stop crying about that Sonic and the motel! I'm glad we are getting it. Ain't nothing like some of those tots and a shake, onion rings too. The burgers are straight up trifling, though. Get you snack on and go next door to smoke rock with your girl and homies. It's all good in the Laplata hood, you feel me?
ReplyDeleteU win.
DeleteU win.
DeleteExactly LaPlata Hood now, just like Waldorf Hood!
ReplyDeleteIs the Western Parkway still under development? Or has that project been shelved as well?
ReplyDeleteThe western parkway project is still going to happen. I believe part of the slowdown is the Walmart plan that western parkway may go behind.
ReplyDeleteIs it true Nicks of Clinton is coming to LaPlata?
ReplyDeletespoken with them in the past about the area but nothing yet.
ReplyDeleteOk. Funny as employees of Waldorf store say so. I guess we will wait and see. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt was talked about when Walmart was going to move. They were interested in part of the building. Did they mention where? There are no large spaces available down there.
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