Burger mania hits as Edmonds welcomes new Dick’s Drive-In

Orders fly out the window Thursday. (Photos by Char Blankenship)Dick Spady, center, leads family members in the ribbon cutting.

It was only fitting that an Edmonds resident, Thea Miklasiewicz of the Lake Ballinger neighborhood, was the first in line for a Dick’s hamburger. “My dad worked for the railroad and we had a big family, so he would always bring home Dick’s from Holman Road on Wednesday because it was discount day,” recalled Miklasiewicz, who had been in line since 3 a.m. Thursday. “I was so excited when I found out Dick’s was coming to Edmonds.”

Mayor Mike Cooper, City Councilmember DJ Wilson and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon applaud as Dick Spady is presented with a belated birthday cake. Spady turned 88 last weekend.An aerial view of the crowd during the grand opening. (Photo by Dean Wallace)

Hundreds of hungry customers waited patiently in line behind her as Dick’s vice president Jim Spady went through a variety of grand-opening rituals. He involved the crowd in a countdown to illuminate the Dick’s “open” sign, he ensured that each of the bands in attendance (from Edmonds-Woodway and Lynnwood high schools as well as the Northwest Junior Pipe Band) had a chance to play several numbers, and he graciously introduced a long list of elected officials, from Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon to Mayor Mike Cooper to the entire Edmonds City Council (except City Council President Strom Peterson, who was out of town). He also gave a nod to City of Edmonds Economic Development Director Stephen Clifton, who worked with Dick’s to find the perfect location in the TOP Food parking lot.

When it was time to officially cut the ribbon, Spady family members including Dick Spady — the 88-year-old company president and namesake — did the honors, to the whoops of those crowded around. Then everyone pressed forward to the Dick’s windows for their opportunity to enjoy a Deluxe, shake and fries.

The Edmonds drive-in, located at 21900 Highway 99 in the TOP Food parking lot, is Dick’s sixth restaurant, the first new Dick’s restaurant in 37 years and the first to open in Snohomish County. The last grand opening celebration was in 1974 for the Queen Anne Dick’s Drive-In. The original Dick’s opened in 1954.

After the opening, hundreds more cruised the TOP Food parking lot looking for non-existent parking spaces and traffic was near a standstill on both Highway 99 and nearby surface streets, requiring Edmonds police to lend a hand with traffic enforcement.

It’s safe to say that brisk customer traffic will continue for the foreseeable future, as Dick’s is conveniently located a few blocks from the Edmonds District football stadium, where Edmonds-Woodway will celebrate its homecoming game vs. Redmond Friday night. Dick’s officials mentioned early on that one of the selling points for the new location was its proximity to the high school and its football stadium.

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