Seattle – Burger lovers rejoice! With a backhoe and balloons, Dick Spady, co-founder and namesake of Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., broke ground today at the new site for the first restaurant since 1974. Local dignitaries, Spady family members, and 7 lucky fans helped launch construction for the new Edmonds Dick’s Drive-In. The restaurant is scheduled to open in early December at Highway 99 and 220th Street SW.

“We’ve been welcomed with open arms by the Edmonds community. Now comes the really fun part where we get to watch a new drive-in take shape and become a part of the neighborhood,” said Spady, who turns 88 in October, “We can’t wait to fire up those new grills, fry up the freshly sliced potatoes and whip up the hand-dipped shakes for all of our local north-end customers.”

The winners of the company’s latest Facebook “Fab Fan” contest included stories from “malt girl,” poetry, 5 generations of family memories, and a daddy’s love for his new baby girl, born premature at only 1 pound, 14 ounces. (See the attached Fab Fan winner’s list and contest entries.)

Edmonds Mayor Mike Cooper added, “This is a wonderful day for Dick’s Drive-Ins and for Edmonds. Dick’s is an example of the type of business we hope to continue attracting. I’m already thinking about what I’ll order as my first Dick’s Drive-In meal this December.”

“Dick’s Drive-Ins has a strong reputation for paying their employees well while also offering good benefits,” said Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. “Theirs is the kind of business that we support in Snohomish County, not to mention that they have one of the best burgers in the Northwest.”

Strom Peterson, Edmonds City Council president, said, “While I am looking forward to my first Edmonds Dick’s Deluxe, I know it couldn’t have happened without our Economic Development Director, Stephen Clifton, or the continuing work of our city staff to keep this project on schedule. And, yes, I’ll have fries with that, and maybe a chocolate shake.”

“We join many others in welcoming Dick’s Drive-In to Edmonds,” said Troy Moore, store manager of the neighboring TOP Food & Drug store. “We have plenty of customers who hope construction goes smoothly and they’ll open soon.”

The Edmonds property is located on Highway 99 with easy access from Interstate 5 via 220th Street SW. The new drive-in will be close to Edmonds Community College, Swedish Edmonds Hospital, and Edmonds Stadium. The stadium is home field for all of the high schools in the Edmonds School District including Edmonds-Woodway, Lynnwood, Meadowdale, Mountlake Terrace and Scriber Lake.

“We look forward to making new friends along the way and feeding lots of hungry teenagers and their families after a big game,” Spady said.

Dick’s currently operates five restaurants in Seattle. The original Dick’s Drive-In opened in 1954 on Northeast 45th Street in Wallingford; the Capitol Hill Dick’s opened in 1955, the Crown Hill Dick’s opened in 1960, the Lake City Dick’s opened in 1963 and the lower Queen Anne Dick’sopened in 1974. The new Dick’s in Edmonds will maintain the original restaurant’s iconic 1950’s look and architecture.

Visit the website at www.dicksdrivein.com