It's not quite Des Moines, but Dick's Drive-In will be expanding nearby in Kent

On Thursday morning (Sept. 7), Dick’s Drive-In announced that they will be opening a new location in Kent on Pacific Highway South near Highline College. The new location for the historic burger restaurant will be on the corner of Pacific Highway South and S. 242nd Street, near where the old Midway Drive-In was once located (map below). “All of the south region cities have been very welcoming. It was very difficult to pick just one winner, but we can only build one restaurant at a time,” said Jasmine Donovan, Vice President of Dick’s Drive-In and granddaughter of the co-founder and namesake, Dick Spady. “The Kent property is in a great location on Highway 99, five miles south of Sea-Tac Airport. It’s a half mile south of the intersection with the Kent-Des Moines highway and very close to Highline College in Des Moines. We look forward to bringing great food and great first-time jobs to the communities of south King County,” said Jim Spady, President of Dick’s Drive-In and son of Dick Spady. “We are incredibly excited that Dick’s Drive-In decided to locate its seventh location in Kent,” said Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. “I so appreciate the can-do attitude by our economic development staff in addressing Dick’s criteria to invest in Kent. It is a tremendous vote of confidence for our community. What a great example of public and private sectors working together to bring an iconic family business for the public to experience and enjoy.” The final purchase is contingent on obtaining any necessary permits from the City of Kent. “Our meetings with Kent city officials have been very positive. If everything goes well we should be able to close the sale by early 2018, begin construction in the Spring and open the first south location before the end of 2018,” Donovan says. The new site selection process included an online customer poll that resulted in over 170,000 votes, 100,000 of which came in the first 24 hours. On March 27th, 2017, the company announced on Facebook Live that the south region had won with 60% of the vote. The original Dick’s Drive-In location opened in the 1954 on Northeast 45th street in Wallingford. The most recent restaurant built was the Edmonds location which opened in 2011 after a similar customer poll directed the company to find property to the north of Seattle. The new location in Kent will maintain the original restaurant’s iconic 1950’s look and architecture.

Kent will be the new home of a Dick’s Drive-in!… https://t.co/3sD0KGDpoc

— Dana E. Neuts (@iLoveKentWA) September 7, 2017

In honor of Dick’s Drive-In’s big decision to open in Kent: “You’re in violation of the Kent big hair ordinance!”https://t.co/a8Pw2gVLg3

— Greg Bensinger (@GregBensinger) September 7, 2017

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