Who's hungry for some good news -- and maybe a Dick's Deluxe?
Congratulations to the Spady family on the successful launch of their newest DIck's Drive-In store in Edmonds. As you can see from the photo above, the iconic Seattle business continues to attrract fans of their famous hamburgers, fries and shakes. About 1,000 people showed up yesterday to participate in the grand opening. One woman reportedly camped out at 3 a.m. to be among the first in line.
The Edmonds drive-in is Dick's sixth restaurant, the first new Dick's restaurant in 37 years and the first to open in Snohomish County.The store is expected to bring new jobs to the area, which is always good news -- but even better in a lagging economy.
In addition to the store's pop culture status, the Spadys have also gained notariety for their commitment to their employees and their families with great benefits and educational scholarships. AWB's Daniel Brunell profiled the Spadys last fall in this What's Working feature in Washington Business magazine.
"Taking care of our employees is one of the key foundations of our business," Dick Spady, president and co-founder, told Brunell. "We're grateful to be in a position where we can create more jobs during a time when good jobs are hard to find."
If you can't make it there in person, you can always follow the restaurant chain on its Facebook page or Twitter account. (It's not as tasty, but still likely to be fun.) The restaurant has used social media actively during the construction of the new restaurant, hosting contests and encouraging fans to share photos of themselves at one of the existing stores. The new store's location was even decided in an online poll.
Jim Spady, Dick's vice president and son of namesake and founder Dick Spady, told the Seattle Weekly, "The outpouring of support and enthusiasm from the community for our local family business has been humbling and overwhelming. We could not have picked a better place to add 35 new jobs and to start building new friendships and memories."
With so much bad news dominating the news these days, it's easy to see why a $1.25 hamburger can evoke such positive feelings and enthusiasm in people of all ages these days. It's also a testament to the good will the Spady family has built with its customers, employees and the community since the first DIck's Drive-In opened in 1954 on NE 45th St., a mile west of the University of Washington.
Congraulations again to AWB member Dick's Drive-Ins and to the Spady family for this exciting -- and mouthwatering -- grand opening event.
