Dick's Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., or simply Dick's, is an American regional

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s located in the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...

. It was founded in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Wallingford Wallingford may refer to: People Surname * Darcy Wallingford (fl. 1980s), Canadian swimmer * Jesse Wallingford (1872–1944), British sport shooter and New Zealand army officer * Sidney Wallingford (1898–1978), British-born aviator and New Zeal ...

neighborhood in 1954 by Dick Spady, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B.O.A. Thomas. , Dick's has ten locations, of which all but one are

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

History

Founders Dick Spady, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B. O. A. Thomas opened the first Dick's on January 28, 1954, in Seattle's

neighborhood. Located on N.E. 45th Street, the restaurant was designed by noted Seattle architect Raymond Peck, whose iconic design for the original location has been replicated at all future locations except Queen Anne. A grand opening was held on February 20, 1954. In 1955, a second Dick's was opened in Seattle's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

district. This was followed by a third in 1960 in the Crown Hill neighborhood, a 4th in 1963 in

Lake City Lake City may refer to: Places *Lake City, Arkansas * Lake City, California (disambiguation) *Lake City, Modoc County, California * Lake City, Nevada County, California *Lake City, Colorado *Lake City, Florida * Lake City, Georgia * Lake City, I ...

, and ventured outside of Seattle's city limits for the first time to

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

in 1965. The Bellevue location is the only location to have closed, shuttering its doors in 1974 as a Herfy's opened across the street with indoor seating. Shortly after the closure of the Bellevue location, the Queen Anne location opened 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

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

s, hand-cut

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

, 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, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

s. Dick's is particularly well known for the "Dick's Deluxe," which includes

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

, and chopped pickles. No substitutions are allowed and all burgers are cooked to

well done Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other types ...

. 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. Periodic 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 poll. The Spady family acquired the remaining stakes owned by the other two partners and began to plan for expansion. In September 2010, it was announced that Dick's was planning on opening its first new location in over 30 years, and 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 Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of List of neighborhoods in Seattle, neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the List of neighborhoods in Seattle, thirteen districts, Delridge, Seattle, Delridge and Southwest, ...

, 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, making it the 25th m ...

, SeaTac, Tukwila, Auburn, Normandy Park,

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

and

Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the 10th most p ...

. After an extensive amount of time, it was announced on September 7, 2017, that the 7th location to the chain would be located in

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 A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van or multi-stop truck) or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food. Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but m ...

to serve five locations in Western Washington that were chosen through a public poll:

, Bellingham, Everett, Renton, and

. The restaurant also announced that it would be expanding to the Eastside once a suitable location is found. DicksQueenAnne

A collaboration with local chef Edouardo Jordan 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 in Bellevue. Dick's then announced on April 28, 2022, that it would open a ninth location at

The Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

shopping center in

in 2023. A tenth location, in Everett, opened on June 12, 2025, and is the chain's northernmost restaurant.

Locations

(opened on January 28, 1954) *

(opened on January 29, 1955) * Crown Hill (opened in 1957) *

(opened in 1963) *

(opened in 1965; *closed in 1974) * Lower Queen Anne (opened in 1974) *

Edmonds Edmonds may refer to: * Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname) * Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US **Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US * Edmonds station (SkyTrai ...

(opened on October 20, 2011) *

(opened on December 12, 2018) * Bellevue Crossroads (opened on December 16, 2021) *

The Commons at Federal Way The Commons at Federal Way (formerly SeaTac Mall) is a regional shopping mall located in Federal Way, Washington, and is the only indoor shopping center in the city. Steadfast Commercial Properties changed the mall's name to The Commons at Feder ...

(opened July 27, 2023) * Everett (opened on June 12, 2025) There is also an unrelated Dick's Hamburgers restaurant in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

. Although this is a drive-in, operated in much the same manner as the Seattle chain (and with a larger menu), it is not affiliated with Dick's Drive-In. It was founded in 1954 and renamed to Dick's in 1967.

In popular culture

* Seattle-native rapper

Sir Mix-a-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot or his CB handle Prime Minista, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1992 hit song " Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

places a scene of his 1988 song "

Posse on Broadway "Posse on Broadway" is a hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wid ...

" at Dick's on Capitol Hill, describing it as a hangout for the rich and cool. * Seattle hip hop duo

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...

shot a scene for the music video for their 2012 song ''

White Walls "White Walls" is a hip-hop song by an American hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, taken from their collaborative debut studio album '' The Heist'' (2012). The song's hook is performed by singer Hollis, while American rapper Schoolboy Q, perfo ...

'' at the Dick's on Capitol Hill. Thousands of fans showed up at the location for an opportunity to catch the stars as the duo performed the song on the roof of the store. * Since 2017, Dick's has sponsored a ''"Seattle House"'' at the annual

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

music festival in Austin, Texas, providing a venue for PNW musicians, artists, and creators to meet, perform, grab at bite to eat, and feel at home in their journey halfway across the country.

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

History

Locations

In popular culture

See also

References

External links