Dick's Drive-In
Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Crown Hill neighborhood. (Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire)

Driving into the parking lot of a Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle and realizing you don’t have any cash on hand has to be one of life’s great disappointments. But after 62 years of not accepting credit or debit cards at any of its locations, the burger joint is making a change.

In a news release this week, the fast-food institution announced news that was “almost as good” as when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. And for a new generation that still loves a Deluxe, fries and a shake, but requires more modern payment options, Dick’s is going all in by accepting Apple Pay and Samsung Pay along with major credit cards.

“The only reason people still carry cash in this city is to eat at Dick’s Drive-In,” Jim Spady, president of the six-location chain said on Dick’s website.

Founder Dick Spady, who started the chain in 1954, passed away in January, and was around for the beginning of what has proved to be a hefty transition.

“Many of our customers have asked us to please start accepting credit and debit cards and one of the last major decisions my Dad made was to start us on this path,” Jim Spady said. “Moving from cash only to accepting credit and debit cards has been a long process with many challenges. It began over two years ago. We had to replace all of our registers and update all of our systems.”

Dick’s will be testing new equipment at several locations over the next month, it says, and plans to be accepting credit and debit cards as well as Apple Pay at all six locations by September.

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