The sun — and the dignitaries — came out on Thursday to welcome first sign of a Dick’s Drive-In in Edmonds: the official groundbreaking in the northeast corner of the TOP Food & Drug parking lot.
Mayor Mike Cooper not only grabbed a shovel and turned some dirt for the event, he used the occasion to make a video — now posted on You Tube — asking businesses to consider relocating to Edmonds. Cooper also shared his memories of being an Edmonds High School student and driving with classmates to what is now the closest Dick’s to Edmonds — on Holman Road — for a Dick’s Deluxe.
Among the dignitaries on hand were Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, Edmonds City Council President Strom Peterson and Dick’s 87-year-old founder and namesake Dick Spady, but some special Dick’s fans also donned hard hats for the celebration. Seven lucky people — including four with Edmonds ties — were chosen from among the restaurant chain’s 154,000 Facebook fans based on their answer to why they should join Spady during the ceremony.
The idea of locating a Dick’s in Edmonds has been the talk of the town ever since the drive-in chain announced that it would be building its first new location since 1974. Dick’s ran a poll on its website asking customers where a new restaurant should be built, and the Northend won, with 46 percent of the vote. Edmonds residents also submitted videos stating their case for why Dick’s should come to Edmonds, with two of them featured on the Dick’s website.
City of Edmonds officials met with restaurant representatives in late September to make their case why Edmonds should be the preferred location, although other cities — including Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Shoreline — were also reported to be in the running.
On Oct. 15, Dick’s officials gathered at the original Wallingford location to announce that Edmonds was the winner.
The plan is to carve out about an acre in the northeast corner of the Top Foods lot, with easy access to Highway 99, officials said, adding that close proximity of the chosen location to Edmonds Stadium and Edmonds-Woodway High School was a factor in the decision.
