Let’s remember when the first Dick’s Drive-In opened in Wallingford, on this day in 1954 (January 28)
I don’t love burgers from Dick’s Drive-In much (give me Kidd Valley any day), but I do enjoy dick puns and jokes, and I can appreciate the ubiquity Dick’s has in Seattle. Plus, I live in Lower Queen Anne and to paraphrase Andy Warhol, I might not want a greasy bag of fries at 2 AM, but I like knowing I can get one when I want.
On January 28, 1954, Dick’s Drive-In opens to begin serving hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes on NE 45th Street in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. Dick’s comes to represent the quintessential 1950s, a cross between fast food and the automobile, quite the place to hang out with your friends with Rock ‘n Roll blaring from the car radio — at least by 1955 when Bill Haley and His Comets hit the charts with “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock,” moving on to 1956 when Elvis comes on the scene with “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” Dick’s Drive-in is started by Dick Spady (1923–2016) and two partners, Warren Ghormley and Dr. “Tom” Thomas, whom Spady will eventually buy out.
In 1955, Broadway Dick’s opened on Capitol Hill. Holman Road Dick’s opened in 1960, the Lake City Dick’s in 1963, and the Queen Anne Dick’s in 1974. Dick’s Drive-in in Edmonds opened in 2011.
He was an entrepreneur of burgers, fries, and shakes with a difference. He offered his employees the highest pay in the industry, well above minimum wage. He provided 100 percent paid health-insurance coverage, including to part-time employees. He gave to his employees more than a million dollars in scholarship funds. Spady also gave generous and unremitting support to homeless and community causes, as well as to disaster relief, and public-engagement efforts including sponsoring an initiative that led to the Community Forums Network.
Interesting enough in light of that last paragraph, the younger Saul Spady was a leader in the movement that helped repeal Seattle’s tax on large employers to specifically pay to fight homelessness.
Regardless, Esquire called Dick’s “the most life-changing burger joint” and we’ve recently found out that a Dick’s Deluxe is good enough for Seattle’s/the world’s second richest man.
For further reading:
*One more thing: Journal of Precipitation is a new, Seattle-area arts and/or culture website that is dedicated to exploring the Pacific Northwest outside of the “usual places” and the cultural zeitgeist. We believe in compensating all of our contributors (even though it is probably modest, compared to larger websites and magazines). If you value what we’re doing, please consider contributing to our Patreon, and allow us to continue to grow and provide coverage of our community.
