Founders Dick Spady, 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 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, and individually made milkshakes. Dick's is particularly well known for the "Dick's Deluxe," which includes lettuce, mayonnaise, 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 matched 401, 100% employer-paid medical insurance, and a $22,000 college tuition scholarship after six months of work. In 2013, Dick's Drive-In was voted "the most life-changing burger joint in America" in an Esquire.com 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 Edmondson 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, SeaTac, Tukwila, Auburn, Normandy Park, 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.
Locations
Wallingford
Capitol Hill
Crown Hill
Lake City
Lower Queen Anne
Edmonds
Kent
Bellevue
There is also a 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, it is not affiliated with Dick's Drive-In.
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.
