Drive-in restaurant chain Sonic plans to open its fifth San Diego County restaurant in Kearny Mesa, on the site of a former Black Angus restaurant.

Special Section: Local Business Spotlight

Sonic has signed a 20-year lease for the 36,590 square feet of land at 5247 Kearny Villa Road, according to a statement from brokerage firm CBRE, which represented Sonic’s local licensed franchisee, SPG Management LLC.

The site’s landlord, Westbrook Ventures 1 LLC, was represented by Coldwell Banker Commercial.

Sonic, based in Oklahoma City, was founded in 1953 and operates more than 3,500 U.S. drive-in restaurants in 43 states. It currently has locations in Santee, Vista and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, with another soon to open in San Marcos.

“The existing locations are thriving and the franchisee is exploring other communities to open additional restaurants,” said CBRE broker Carrie Bobb.

The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.