Over 115,000 Dick�s Customers Vote in Online Poll!
North Wins with 46 percent, South takes second, East third place
Video contest winners announced � ads pitch favorite cities north

Seattle � After a phenomenal customer response to an online poll, Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants announced today plans to focus their search for a new restaurant location within a 20 mile area north of the original Dick�s in Wallingford. After almost 3 weeks of voting, the north region, including Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Edmonds, and South Everett scored highest with 53,810 votes, or 46 percent of the 115,524 votes cast. South captured 28 percent, (32,180 votes), and East received 26 percent (30,534 votes). The online poll closed at 10:00 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 19.

"This is an historic time for our family�s small business," says Jim Spady, Vice President of Dick�s Drive-Ins and son of co-founder and namesake, Dick Spady. "The outpouring of support has been overwhelming and humbling. North received the most votes, and that is where we will now focus our efforts." Spady added, "We want those who voted South and East to know that we heard their voices also. If the new northern Dick�s is a success, the next two Dick�s Drive-Ins will be built in the South and East regions.

What happens now? "If everything goes smoothly with selecting a new site, securing the building permits and constructing the new restaurant, then we hope to open the new Dick�s drive-in late in 2011 or early in 2012," Spady says.

In addition to the strong customer web poll preference to build north, the top video contest winners all pitched northern locations in their 20-second spots.

First place: "The Spoof." A local take on the "What can Brown do for you?" ad with the whiteboard demonstration. We loved the graphics and unexpected twists. Who knew that a single Dick�s Drive-In could save the planet and bring back the unicorn? Score one for Everett.

Second place: "The Action Film." What would a burger commercial be without the guys blowing up the hood? Score one for the action flick and for Lynnwood.

Third place tie: "Black Humor." The wilted boutoniere, the unrequited love for Peter Frampton was a 70�s flashback we would prefer to forget. It�s right up there with polyester suites and Gremlins. Score one for Edmonds.
And; "Dick�s Rapper Chicks." Score another for the hood � Edmonds.

The original Dick's Drive-In opened in 1954. The new Dick�s drive-in will be the first built in 36 years and will maintain the original restaurant's iconic 1950's look and architecture.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dicksdrivein
Website: http://dicksdrivein.com

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Dick's Online Customer Poll Crosses 100,000 Vote Threshold
North still leads at 47 percent of voting totals

Seattle -- Crossing a major threshold in an online customer poll, Dick's Drive-In Restaurants announced today that 100,000 people have voted on where to build the next Dick's Drive-In. The milestone vote occurred at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 just in time for dinner. The company plans to extend the customer poll until Sunday, Sept. 19.

Vote breakdown as of Monday, Sept. 13 at 12:30 p.m. (Note: Survey Gizmo does not round up the numbers during the polling)
47 percent (48,438 votes) for North -- Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwod, Edmonds, and South Everett
28 percent (28,297 votes) for South -- West Seattle, South Seattle, Burien, SeaTac, and Tukwila
25 percent (25,098 votes) for East -- Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Mercer Island, Issaquah, and Sammamish

"The voting participation has wildly exceeded our expectations," says Jim Spady, vice president of Dick's Drive-In Restaurants and son of co-founder and namesake, Dick Spady. "We are now over the 100,000 and counting, and continue to be amazed by the outpouring of enthusiasm for our new restaurant project. People have been sharing their love for Dick's burgers, shakes, and fries."

Spady says that once the final votes are officially tallied, an announcement will be made along with the winners of the Dick's video contest.

"We take what our customers say to heart, and the online poll winner will be a top consideration as we move the site selection process forward," Spady says. Spady added that he expects an announcement before the end of the year.

The first Dick's Drive-In was founded in 1954, expanding to 5 restaurants in Seattle until 1974 with the Queen Anne Dick's. The new drive-in will be the first built in 36 years and will maintain the restaurant's iconic 1950s look and architecture.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dicksdrivein
Website: http://dicksdrivein.com

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Dick's Online Customer Poll to Continue Through Sept. 19th
Video contest also extended through next week

Seattle -- Dick's Drive-In Restaurants announced today that the online customer poll on where to build the next Dick's Drive-In will be available until Sunday, Sept. 19. The company is also extending the video contest for the restaurant expansion until Sept. 19.

As of Friday morning, over 96,000 had voted in the Dick's online poll. Hackers infiltrated the poll last week adding over 100,000 extra votes. Safety measures were implemented and the duplicated votes removed.

"We have been humbled by the phenomenal response," says Jim Spady, vice president of Dick's Drive-In Restaurants and son of co-founder and namesake, Dick Spady. "We are excited to hear from our customers who are so passionate about Dick's burgers and fries."

The first Dick's Drive-In was founded in 1954, expanding to 5 restaurants in Seattle until 1974 with the Queen Anne Dick's. The new drive-in will be the first built in 36 years and will maintain the restaurant's iconic 1950s look and architecture.

Details for the video contest include the following:

Theme: Let us know in 20 seconds why we should build a Dick's in your neighborhood?

Keep it FUN, CLEAN and CREATIVE
Post your 20-second spot as a response to the following YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es9Gk2x4F_Y
Deadline is Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010 by 5:00 p.m.
Top 3 videos will be posted on the Dick's Drive-In Facebook page

Dick's Drive-In prizes:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dicksdrivein
Website: http://dicksdrivein.com

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Dick's Drive-Ins Launches Video Contest for New Restaurant
Calls on customers to help pitch their favorite future location

Seattle � As part of their customer campaign to select a new restaurant location, Seattle�s iconic Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants announced today a video contest for their fans. Video contest rules include the following:

Theme: Let us know in 20 seconds why we should build a Dick's in your neighborhood?

Keep it FUN, CLEAN and CREATIVE
Post your 20-second spot as a response to the following YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es9Gk2x4F_Y
Deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010 by 11:30 p.m.
Top 3 videos will be posted on the Dick's Drive-In Facebook page

Dick's Drive-In prizes:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dicksdrivein
Website: http://dicksdrivein.com

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Seattle�s Famed Dick�s Drive-Ins Announces Historic Expansion
First question � where to build the first new Dick�s in 36 years?

Seattle � Where to build the next Dick�s Drive-In Restaurant? That is the question. After 36 years and millions of burgers and fries, Seattle�s famed Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants today announced plans to build a new drive-in somewhere in the Seattle metro area by calling on customers and fans to help select the next location. The expansion is the first new Dick�s Drive-In for the company since the Queen Anne Dick�s opened in 1974.

"We are very excited to make this historic expansion after 36 years," says Jim Spady, vice president of Dick�s Drive-Ins and son of co-founder and namesake, Dick Spady. "And we want to involve our customers and the community, asking everyone to help us find the best location for our next restaurant."

Spady added that an online poll has been setup at DicksDriveIn.com for people to register their top pick for a new location. "We�re looking to the north, south and east of our current five Seattle locations to make it more convenient for customers to enjoy our famous burgers, fries, and shakes," Spady says.

Dick�s Drive-Ins is known for having the region�s highest wages and employee benefits within the fast food industry including college scholarships of up to $18,000 per employee. "Taking care of our employees is one of the key foundations of our business," says Dick Spady, president and co-founder of Dick�s. "This community has been so good to us for 56 years. We�re grateful to be in a position where we can create more jobs during a time when good jobs are hard to find."

Dick Spady, who turns 87 in October, recalled how great it was to launch a successful business after being repeatedly told by local bankers that he couldn't possibly make a profit selling 19 cent burgers because there were restaurants all over Seattle selling burgers for 30 cents and losing money.

"After 56 years, hiring tens of thousands of employees, and providing over $1 million to our employees in college scholarships, I�m glad we didn�t listen to those who told us �it wouldn�t work.� Quality food, served quickly at low prices was a great idea in 1954 and it still is," Dick says.

The first Dick�s Drive-In opened on NE 45th Street in Wallingford on January 28th, 1954. Burgers were 19 cents, fries 11 cents, and shakes 21 cents. "Some things have changed," says Spady, "but we still use fresh beef and buns that have never been frozen, we still hand-cut our fries from real potatoes, and we still hand-dip and individually whip our shakes.This tradition of quality will continue at the new restaurant."

"Another change is how our customers communicate," says Spady. "Our Facebook page has over 100,000 friends and continues to grow as an online community passionate about great burgers, fries and shakes."

To join the official Dick�s Drive-In Facebook burger community, go to facebook.com/dicksdrivein

To register your top pick for the new restaurant location, go to DicksDriveIn.com and take the instant poll.

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Dick�s Drive-Ins Hits 100k Milestone on Facebook

Seattle �  Seattle�s famed Dick�s Drive-In Restaurant announced today that they had reached the milestone of 100,000 Facebook friends on the official Dick�s Drive-In Facebook page at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"We're delighted and humbled that so many people are part of the Dick's Drive-In Facebook family," says Jim Spady, vice president for Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants, and son of the Dick�s co-founder and namesake Dick Spady. "We will do everything we can to continue to deserve your enthusiastic support." 

As Seattle�s longest operating fast-food restaurant, Spady says that building a Dick�s community online has been a fun project for the restaurant.  "We�re amazed by the loyalty of our customers. Facebook connects Dick�s devotees from all over the world including Japan and Australia," says Spady. "We love to see their comments and hear about their cravings."

So what�s next?  "We�ll just keep this online community growing and hope to hit the 200,000 milestone too," Spady says.

If you like Dick�s please visit the website http://www.dicksdrivein.com

Or join the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/dicksdrivein/

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Lake City Dick�s Drive-In to Reopen April 5

Repairs on-track after crash damages historic restaurant

Seattle � One of Seattle�s famed Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants plans to reopen for business Monday, April 5 during regular hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. The Lake City Dick�s, 12325 30th Ave N., Seattle, closed for repairs after sustaining damage when a car crashed into the front of the restaurant on Thursday, March 25. No customers or employees were injured during the crash.

"We�re eager and excited to start serving our Lake City customers once again," says Jim Spady, vice president for Dick�s Drive-In Restaurants, and son of Dick�s co-founder and namesake Dick Spady. "There has been an outpouring of support and we are grateful for such loyal employees and customers who care about the life of the restaurant. It truly is a place to connect for the community." Spady added that employees have continued to receive their regular pay and benefits during the restaurant�s closure. "There is a strong sense of family for our employees, and this is just about supporting each other during the ups and downs of life," Spady says.

This is the second longest closure of a Dick�s restaurant in the history of the company. The Lake City Dick�s also closed in October of 1968 for 4 weeks after a fire broke out in the French fry cooker. Last week�s crash damaged the front counter, broke windows, and smashed the original tile on the front wall.

The Lake City restaurant is one of four Dick�s Drive-Ins designed by local architect Raymond H. Peck. The Lake City drive-in opened in 1963 to serve the ever-expanding suburbs of Seattle with their baby-boom families. "The 1950s architecture is an important part of the Dick�s iconic brand," says Spady, "our repairs to the Lake City drive-in will preserve that nostalgic architecture."

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