Chris once described
Dick's Drive-In fare as "probably what McDonald's tasted like when it had just a handful of restaurants." So, maybe a step above average fast food. However, due to its proximity, Chris eats there whenever he learns I've made broccoli pie (or whatever non-meat-containing entree) for dinner. That is to say, he eats there a lot.
I don't know much about the food (though there's always a crowd out front, and it's open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.!), but there are a few cool things about Dick's. One is that it's family owned. Second, it's a good employer: It pays $9.50/hour to start, which is above minimum wage. Even better, for employees who work 20 or more hours a week for at least six months it offers scholarships up to $22,000 and childcare assistance of up to $8,000. And it will pay employees for four hours
a month of community service work.
Today I learned about the company's Change for Charity program, which this season is focusing on housing homeless families with children. Each of its six locations has boxes collecting customers' spare change, and Dick's will match customer donations from December 2010 (with an adjustment since it has opened one more location since then) to add to its homeless aid. According to a press release that Dick's issued today, Dick's Change For Charity program has raised over $500,000 in donations since 1998 -- including more than $21,000 in March for tsunami relief in Japan.
Dick's almost makes me feel good about fast food! Almost. Still, I'm happy to share the city with Dick's.
Would that big business could emulate the family owned ones rather than become so greedy.
ReplyDeleteYou can literally put yourself through UW working at Dick's, without taking on student loans. Might take 5 years at 20 hours a week, but still.
ReplyDeleteOne cool thing about Dick's, in addition to the many, many, endlessly amusing puns you can make with the name, is that they don't do any substitutions or special orders. You may not like that, but you have to respect it.
A fast food place I can feel good about patronizing--good thing it's across the country from me!
ReplyDeleteI love Dick's. Whenever I come back to Seattle, I try to have it. And I also love to tell people to eat a bag of Dick's. :) Miss you!
ReplyDeleteDim Sum Lum, I forgot you used to live here! Please share your secret shopping spots with me!
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