Restaurants come and go. The majority go.
Building a loyal following that spans generations is the holy grail particularly for a small local fast food burger drive-in. Dick’s has done it.
I scanned the parking lot of the Wallingford Dicks during a recent visit. A Carrera GT4 was parked near a landscape crew’s truck, a triple black tinted window Escalade next to a Prius and there always is at least one 60′s era VW beetle amid the melting pot of steel and people.
Everyone who lives in or around Seattle and everyone who has attended college in Seattle knows Dicks. Many have worked at Dicks while in college and doing so is a better job than most for a college kid.There are tangible reasons.
Jim Spady, VP & Legal Counsel
After 40 years in business, Dicks is opening a sixth store and the Puget sound Business Journal interviewed executive Jim Spady at the original Dicks in Wallingford. Simple, smart business decisions seem to be the foundation of leadership in this local iconic business.
PSBJ asks:
“Why was the Northeast 45th Street (Wallingford) location the first? Spady, “It’s near the University of Washington, there are college students who want to eat and also want to work”.
“Dicks Drive-Ins gives better employee benefits than some multibillion-dollar franchises. Why do you do it”. Spady, “Anyone who works 24 hours a week gets our package. It’s a virtuous cycle where everybody benefits. A great employee is one who works for us during their college years, and often times that’s when you need health insurance”. Dicks employee turnover is significantly lower than industry average.
Dicks provides a scholarship to every employee who works at least 20 hours a week for 6 months. Prices are low and cash only. Fries are real potatoes fried in real oil. There is no tofu burger or salad on the menu.
Dicks has mojo and you feel it while standing in line in the drizzle of Seattle.
Dicks deluxe – no cheese, fries and a medium root beer. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.
