Dick's Drive-In, or simply Dick's, is a
fast-food restaurant chain located in the
Seattle,
Washington area. It was founded in 1954 by
Dick Spady
Richard Jack Spady (October 15, 1923 – January 10, 2016) was an American businessman best known as the co-founder and namesake of Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In, or simply Dick's, is a fast-food restaurant chain located in the Seattle, Wa ...
, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B.O.A. Thomas. It currently operates eight locations in the
Puget Sound region.
History

Founders
Dick Spady
Richard Jack Spady (October 15, 1923 – January 10, 2016) was an American businessman best known as the co-founder and namesake of Dick's Drive-In
Dick's Drive-In, or simply Dick's, is a fast-food restaurant chain located in the Seattle, Wa ...
, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B. O. A. Thomas opened the first Dick's on January 28, 1954, in Seattle's
Wallingford neighborhood, on N.E. 45th Street. A grand opening was held on February 20, 1954. In 1955, a second Dick's was opened in Seattle's
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
district.
This was followed by a third in 1960 in the
Crown Hill neighborhood, a 4th in 1963 in
Lake City, a fifth in
Queen Anne in 1974.
All but the Queen Anne location are without customer seating. The Queen Anne location has indoor tables and no drive-in.
The simple menu has changed little over time. It features fast-food staples such as
hamburgers, hand-cut
french fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
, and individually made
milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...
s. Dick's is particularly well known for the "Dick's Deluxe," which includes
lettuce,
mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...
, and chopped
pickles. No substitutions are allowed and all burgers are cooked to
well done. For most of Dick's history, the only available omissions were the Deluxe without cheese or fries without salt. More recent menu changes, however, allow ordering plain versions of the hamburger and cheeseburger.

For several years Dick's has offered employee benefits such as a 50% matched
401(k)
In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodical employee contributions come directly out of their ...
, 100% employer-paid medical insurance, and a college tuition scholarship (currently at $28,000) accessible after six months of employment. In 2013, Dick's Drive-In was voted "the most life-changing burger joint in America" in an
Esquire.com
''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions.
Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under ...
poll.
In September 2010, it was announced that Dick's was planning on opening a new sixth location in the Seattle area and that an online poll on their website would determine the new location. After a few weeks of polling, the area north of Seattle won the right for a new Dick's Drive-In. On October 15, 2010, Dick's officials announced the new location to be in Edmonds on the corner of Hwy 99 and 220th St. On October 20, 2011, the 6th location in Edmonds opened to the public. The opening occurred multiple weeks ahead of schedule.
In 2017, Dick's launched another poll to determine its seventh location, which would be located either on the
Eastside or in South King County. Over 177,000 participants cast their votes, with the majority favoring the South region. Locations being considered included
Kent,
West Seattle, South Seattle,
Renton,
Burien
Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993. An annexation in 2010 ...
,
SeaTac,
Tukwila,
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
,
Normandy Park,
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
and
Federal Way. After an extensive amount of time, it was announced on September 7, 2017, that the 7th location to the chain would be located in
Kent on Highway 99, south of
Sea-Tac Airport. The location opened on December 12, 2018.
In September 2020, Dick's announced that it would launch a
food truck to serve five locations in Western Washington that were chosen through a public poll:
Bellevue,
Bellingham,
Everett,
Renton, and
West Seattle. The restaurant also announced that it would be expanding to the Eastside once a suitable location is found. A collaboration with local chef
Edouardo Jordan
Edouardo Jordan is an American chef and restaurateur based in Seattle, Washington.
Early life and career
Jordan grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida and studied business at the University of Florida. He then attended the Le Cordon Bleu (Orlando Cu ...
of Salare and JuneBaby was also announced with a three-day popup event at the Queen Anne location. In December 2021, Dick's opened an Eastside location at the
Crossroads Shopping Center
Crossroads Shopping Center, better known by its name in its heyday, Stewart-Lakewood Center, is an open-air shopping center on Metropolitan Parkway (formerly Stewart Avenue) at Langford Parkway (formerly Lakewood Freeway) in the Sylvan Hills nei ...
in Bellevue.
Dick's then announced on April 28, 2022, that it would open a ninth location at
The Commons shopping center in
Federal Way in 2023.
Locations

*
Wallingford (opened on January 28, 1954)
*
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
(opened in 1955)
*
Crown Hill (opened in 1957)
*
Lake City (opened in 1963)
*
Lower Queen Anne
Lower Queen Anne (officially known since 2021 as Uptown) is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, at the base of Queen Anne, Seattle, Queen Anne Hill. While its boundaries are not precise, the toponym usually refers to the sho ...
(opened in 1974)
*
Edmonds (opened on October 20, 2011)
*
Kent (opened on December 12, 2018)
*
Bellevue (opened in 1965; closed in 1974)
*
Bellevue Crossroads (opened December 16, 2021)
[
* Federal Way (planned to open in 2023)
There is also an unrelated Dick's Hamburgers restaurant in Spokane. Although this is a drive-in, operated in much the same manner as the six drive-in locations of the Seattle chain (and with a larger menu), it is not affiliated with Dick's Drive-In.
]
In popular culture
* Seattle-native rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot places a scene of his 1988 song " Posse on Broadway" at Dick's on Capitol Hill, describing it as a hangout for the rich and cool.[Marino, Nick. "Geek Love: Sir Mix-A-Lot". ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' (May 2002)]
See also
* List of hamburger restaurants
References
External links
*
{{Restaurants in Seattle
1954 establishments in Washington (state)
Companies based in Seattle
Drive-in restaurants
Fast-food chains of the United States
Fast-food hamburger restaurants
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1954
Restaurants in Seattle