Dick's Drive-In facts for kids
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The Capitol Hill restaurant, 2022
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast food |
| Founded | 1954 Wallingford, Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Founders | Dick Spady H. Warren Ghormley B. O. A. Thomas |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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10 |
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Key people
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Jasmine Donovan (President, CFO) |
| Products | Hamburgers, fries, shakes, sodas, and ice cream. |
| Revenue | US$18 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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270 (2021) |
Dick's Drive-In, often just called Dick's, is a popular fast-food restaurant chain. It is located in the Seattle area of Washington, U.S. It started in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood in 1954. Three friends, Dick Spady, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B.O.A. Thomas, opened the first one. Today, Dick's has ten locations, and almost all of them are drive-ins where you order from your car!
Contents
The History of Dick's Drive-In
The first Dick's restaurant opened on January 28, 1954. It was in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. A famous architect named Raymond Peck designed the building. His unique design was used for almost all the other Dick's locations.
Growing the Restaurant Chain
After the first restaurant, more Dick's locations opened:
- A second one in Capitol Hill in 1955.
- A third in Crown Hill in 1960.
- A fourth in Lake City in 1963.
- The first one outside Seattle, in Bellevue, opened in 1965. This Bellevue location closed in 1974.
- The Queen Anne location opened in 1974. This one is special because it has indoor seating, unlike most other Dick's.
What's on the Menu?
Dick's menu has stayed mostly the same over the years. It offers classic fast-food items. You can get hamburgers, hand-cut french fries, and milkshakes made just for you.
The "Dick's Deluxe" is very popular. It comes with lettuce, mayonnaise, and chopped pickles. All burgers are cooked well done. For a long time, you could only order the Deluxe without cheese or fries without salt. Now, you can also order plain hamburgers and cheeseburgers.
Helping Employees and Expanding
Dick's is known for taking good care of its employees. They offer great benefits like medical insurance paid by the company. They also have a college tuition scholarship. Employees can get up to $28,000 for college after working there for six months.
In 2013, a magazine called Esquire.com voted Dick's "the most life-changing burger joint in America."
For many years, the Spady family owned all of Dick's. They started planning to open new restaurants. In 2010, Dick's asked people to vote online for where the next new location should be. The area north of Seattle won!
New Locations Open
- On October 20, 2011, the sixth Dick's opened in Edmonds.
- In 2017, Dick's held another vote for its seventh location. Over 177,000 people voted! The South King County area won.
- The seventh location opened in Kent on December 12, 2018. It is about 5 miles south of the Sea-Tac Airport.
- In September 2020, Dick's started a food truck. It visits five different cities in Western Washington.
- In December 2021, a new Dick's opened in Bellevue at the Crossroads Shopping Center.
- On July 27, 2023, a ninth location opened in Federal Way at The Commons at Federal Way shopping center.
- The tenth and northernmost Dick's location opened in Everett on June 12, 2025.
Dick's Drive-In Locations
Here are the current Dick's Drive-In locations:
- Wallingford (opened January 28, 1954)
- Capitol Hill (opened January 29, 1955)
- Crown Hill (opened 1957)
- Lake City (opened 1963)
- Lower Queen Anne (opened 1974)
- Edmonds (opened October 20, 2011)
- Kent (opened December 12, 2018)
- Bellevue Crossroads (opened December 16, 2021)
- Federal Way at The Commons at Federal Way (opened July 27, 2023)
- Everett (opened June 12, 2025)
There was also a location in Bellevue that opened in 1965 and closed in 1974.
It's important to know that there is another restaurant called Dick's Hamburgers in Spokane. Even though it's also a drive-in, it is not connected to the Dick's Drive-In chain in Seattle.
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
