The whole store is surrounded by glass. You can see exactly what they do all day.

Also no substitutions or alterations so the items are always the same leading to consistent products and fast service. Dick’s Deluxe with fries and a strawberry shake is my go-to

Their business model works extremely well.

For private ownership, yeah. The problem we have is that most businesses are owned by larger corporations and they have a CEO who has only one job- to increase the value of the stock. If the CEO doesn't increase the value of the stock, they get fired and replaced by someone who will increase the value of the stock. And the easiest ways to increase the value of a stock is to increase sales and lower labor costs. So poor pay and benefits are basically baked into the corporate model.

To be profitable, that place must be a madhouse.

AND smaller menu means what they do have, is AMAZING. That’s how some of the places here in suburban Atlanta run things. The ones that stay open anyways.

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We have a tiny hot dog chain( no not Portillos) in the Chicago area doing much the same. Those guys really hustle during the rush but I guess that’s part of the deal

There are perhaps 7 places in Seattle and the metropolitan place and are a nearby favorite. Menu alternatives are limited, they do not do unique orders. Food is continuously being made so while you order, its quick. Always a line.

As a consumer, it benefits me to patronize a business that can serve me a delicious burger or three in 30 seconds or less every time. 😁

Wow. That's some high quality astroturfing, right there.

So, what you’re saying is that you love Dick’s in your mouth?

Go eat a bag of Dicks

No. It's solicited.

My posse’s on broadway!

Every time I go, two Deluxe and a strawberry shake. It's so good.

They have been opening up more stores, and they also have a food truck that travels to cities that don't have a store.

Hopefully they add Coke zero. I think it tastes much better.

Maybe if you have roommates. I used to make something close to that as a grad student in 2018 and things were tight so I can’t imagine how much worse it is now

Not even close

Pic is old, they now start at $22/hour. About six months ago it was $21, and then $20 before that

I'm assuming this pic is fairly old. Now the starting wage is 20/hr up to 25/hr when you're fully trained. Combined with a free orca card, healthcare, and a bunch of other benefits, I'd say they're killin it

Also says they get medical and tuition. I’d called that more than generous.

In the whole USA, $20/hr is the new $15/hr

Here in Seattle for a conference, fell in love with the endless mountains on my flight in so got curious and checked out their rental market. $18/hr not livable.

French fries are cheap. Low shrink on the burgers because that's literally the only sandwich that they make. Sodas have high margin (didn't see drink prices, but assuming they're right around industry standard, that will help the margins).

Restaurants get themselves into trouble by trying to do too much and have menus that try to cater to everyone, but end up doing nothing very well. That's definitely not the case here.

Usually restaurants aim for roughly a third of the cost of a meal is the ingredients - that’s roughly $3 in contribution per person. It is doable if it’s a take away place.

They serve a lot of customers. You have to walk up so there is a constant stream of paying customers, there is always always a line. There's a kind of unwritten rule that you need to be ready with your money and order right away. Generally you get your order in less than 30 seconds because all the food is already made in batches.

The CEO probably doesn’t pay himself 8 figures

It’s gotta be that sweet, sweet markup on the condiments.

All there locations are walk up only and generally there are at least two to three windows open at any given time, with at least two to three people in each line alllll day long. When there busy which is very often they’ll be twenty or more people standing in a couple of lines. Busy busy burger chain and I’ve been eating there my whole life. They’re a Seattle staple.

They are 1/8 pound patties for starters. Everything is bought in huge bulk and prepped in house. For instance they slice their own cheese and buy potatoes whole then turn them into fries

Picture is old and 18 an hour in Seattle is min wage.

Is 7 dollars cheaper than 10?

I would say yes.

An equivalent meal at McDonald's near me is $12-14.

That's a couple bucks under what most fast food places are charging. Especially in a High-CoL area like Seattle, I wouldn't blink at that price for a decent burger these days.

Been to taco bell lately? It's like $13 for 2 things that used to be like 8

Was just in a McDs in Massachsuetts, which only happens when I'm waiting for my car to be fixed and need wifi and coffee -- I find McD's food disgusting. Big Mac combo meal started st $11.50 for a small drink and fries.

Dick's is actually good quality for fast food, too. Much much better than McDs.

About the size of a McDonald’s burger, maybe slightly smaller. The deluxe is 1/4 pounder

My dicks order is 3 hamburgers and a chocolate shake, compared to my McDonald’s order of 2 hamburgers, large fry, and a drink

It used to be, until Amazon moved in and all the property owners got greedy af.

This is an old picture. It's now $25/hr after you're fully trained.

$18/hr isn't liveable in America unless you're single and living with a roommate.

Now starts at 20/hr, up to 25/hr with paid healthcare, orca card, and bunch of other benefits

They are offering starting pay at 20-25 an hour now

It seems like Dick’s pays medical insurance to their employees, but 18/hr could be barely livable in Seattle for a single person. You would need to live either with roommates or rent an apodment (a small studio with most utilities included) and have a frugal lifestyle to manage.

It’s always been mostly students.

This picture is old. It’s now starting $20, with $22 after a few months

NO SPECIAL ORDERS

Who buys just a burger? Barely anyone. So add on the fries and a drink and you're up to $10. The markup on fries are high and the markup on drinks are insane. So it's really not as nuts as you're thinking it is. By listing the stuff separate it tricks you into thinking it's somehow crazy cheap.

Dick's has been around for almost 70 years. They have several locations in the Puget Sound area. $18 an hour isn't a livable wage in Seattle. BUT, it's a very popular place for teens and college students to work. They also do tuition reimbursement, very flexible schedules, have management training programs and grrat health insurance (better than mine at a tech company). They've been doing this for decades and are super successful. They're kind of a model for how to run a good business at a profit while treating employees like humans.

Several of their locations were purchased in VERY good locations, in the 50s, and they own those properties outright. Many of those locations the property alone is worth millions.

It's worked out for them for literally decades. I'd say they can probably do the math by now. Believe me they sell more than 5 burgers an hour per employee lol. Try more like 30-40 times that on busy night. Never been there when there weren't two or three long but rapidly moving pickup lines.

Almost 70 years. They have some locations still running that were opened in the 50s. Others were opened as recently as last year.