Dick’s Drive-In, the popular Seattle burger chain, has announced it’s looking to open a new store on the Eastside.
In a news release Wednesday, Sept. 30, the chain announced that in addition to the launch of a new food truck this fall, the company also selected the Eastside as its next region for a new location.
The territory where Dick’s will select from spans as north as Bothell, as south as Newcastle and as east as Redmond, Issaquah and Sammamish.
The food truck will help Dick’s scout locations on the Eastside that will receive the most business and be a potential homes for the next store in the chain.
“Places where the Food Truck serves the most customers on the Eastside are places where we’ll seriously look for a permanent Eastside location,” President of Dick’s Drive-In Jasmine Donovan stated in a press release.
Right now there is no set timeline for the new Eastside location, but they are looking for help on property suggestions and potential locations for sale along the Eastside. Those tips can be sent to ddir.com/Eastside.
The company shared on its website it is looking for a location that meets these criteria:
- Easy access in and out of the parking lot to a busy, regularly traveled road
- Close to multiple schools and/or colleges
- Close to 24-hour employers (Hospitals)
- Close proximity to other essential businesses (grocery stores)
- At least one acre in size and/or part of a larger parking lot
The most recent stores for the chain include Edmonds in 2011 and Kent in 2018.
“We paid $1 million for almost an acre of land in Edmonds, and less than that for 2 acres of land in Kent. We know land on the Eastside is very expensive right now. Although, we are prepared to spend more for a good site, we are not sure we can afford the land that we need. We are asking for help from our Eastside customers and cities to help us find an affordable location,” Donovan stated.
The new location is also anticipated to create 50 jobs with health insurance for all employees and scholarships for those working at least 20 hours a week. Dick’s also known for offering high wages compared to other food industry jobs.
Recently customers voted for the top five locations they wanted to see a food truck, and the winners were Bellevue, Bellingham, Everett, Renton and West Seattle.
