Dick’s Drive-In brings back 19-cent burger deal to celebrate turning 70

This week, Dick’s Drive-In is celebrating the chain’s 70th anniversary with 19-cent hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

Three drive-ins per day between Tuesday and Thursday will feature the anniversary deal. On Tuesday, the locations in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood, on Broadway and in the Lake City area will house the special.

On Wednesday, the restaurants on Holman Road in Seattle and in Bellevue’s Crossroads and Federal Way will host the deal.

Finally, on Thursday, the locations in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, Edmonds and Kent will sell the 19-cent burgers.

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Dick’s sets the rules to get 19-cent burgers

The chain notes on its website one burger will be sold per customer. So, if a family of five shows up at the window, each family member can get a burger for 19 cents. The site also specifies that “a single customer will not be able to receive two 19-cent burgers if (a) friend is waiting in the car.”

Dick’s also states online the special burger deal will not be available on DoorDash and, going further, “DoorDash for each location will be turned off on that location’s (19 Cent Day) — to ease confusion.”

The chain also suggests customers make sure they go to the right location if they expect to take advantage of the burger deal as it will only be available at the dates and locations listed in this story and on its website.

A quick look at the history of Dick’s Drive-In

As Dick’s Drive-In explained in a news release sent to KIRO Newsradio, the original founders, Dick Spady, Warren Ghormley and Dr. B.O.A. “Thom” Thomas, opened the first restaurant in Wallingford on NE 45th Street on Jan. 28th, 1954.

When the eatery opened, they sold hamburgers for 19 cents in “Seattle’s first quick-service hamburger restaurant.”

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“The local price for hamburgers at the time was 35 cents,” Jasmine Donovan, president of Dick’s and granddaughter of Dick Spady, said in the statement. “Not many people believed that selling burgers for 19 cents, especially with a commitment to quality ingredients, could succeed. But for our customers it was love at first bite and here we are 70 years later.”

The chain added that it plans to celebrate its 70th anniversary throughout 2024.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating with our customers, employees and communities, all the amazing memories the last 70 years and imagining together what the next 70 years will look like,” Donovan said.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor at MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.