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The Sonic Burger itself.

((Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri))

Paul Montella is a partner in the soon-in-coming Sonic in Richmond Valley. He is a seasoned restaurateur with Campania in Eltingville to his credit. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sonic, a national drive-through burger franchise, soon will launch its first New York City location at 148 Page Ave.

Co-owner Paul Montella predicts the inaugural days to be mid-July or early August.

The build-out of the Richmond Valley restaurant was supposed to happen in 2013, but Stop Work Orders from the City Department of Buildings slowed construction.

"I would like to apologize to people for the delay. Some things are beyond our control," said Montella, explaining that the delays had nothing to do with Sonic itself but, for instance, with traffic studies that ultimately resulted in road work and a widening of Page Avenue.

Training has begun for two managers at certified training centers. The pair are in Week Two of an eight-week program. Despite moving forward with the project, Montella is reluctant to start soliciting a crew of workers just yet. He expects to put a sign up in early June with contact information for employment.

"I can't wait to do it," enthused Montella.

His partners, Anthony Cerillo and Ronald Delgaudio, have four Sonics underway in New Jersey. But Montella has food operations already to his credit as well as co-owner of both Nucci's North in West Brighton and Nucci's South in Richmond Valley as well as Campania in Eltingville and a catering operation that services school lunch programs.

ONE FRANCHISE IN, ONE OUT

Meanwhile, Little Caesars recently shut down on Richmond Road in Dongan Hills. The corner pizzeria franchise was the first Little Caesars in the borough. It opened in fall 2012.

Said a company spokeswoman in an email: "Our stores close for a variety of reasons, and in this case it was a business decision by the owner."

There are 51 Little Caesar outfits in New York City, according to the NYC.gov restaurant inspection roster of licensed venues. Proprietorship is different at Little Caesar's in Mariners Harbor located at 2236 Forest Ave.

As to whether or not there are distance stipulations among Little Caesars' franchises, the spokeswoman noted there were some, but those details are not shared publicly.