Dick’s Drive-In: Sound Transit threatens newest restaurant in Kent

KENT, Wash. -- Dick's Drive-In says Sound Transit is threatening its new restaurant in Kent.

Dick's opened its first ever drive-in south of Seattle last month, and now the restaurant says Sound Transit identified the restaurant on Pacific Highway South, along with the rest of the Midway Shopping Center, as one of few potential sites that could ultimately be acquired to build the south Operations and Maintenance Facility.

The Kent City Council unanimously passed an emergency zoning ordinance earlier this week to keep Sound Transit from building that facility there.

“It’s certainly not what we had in mind to put in some big 30-acre train yard,” Councilman Dennis Higgins said before the vote. “It's inconceivable that a public agency for the region would even conceive of doing such a thing in a city like ours."

Dick's says it sent a letter to the Sound Transit Board, saying in part that "we welcome the opening of the new light rail station in Kent, just blocks from our new location. It will be good for our customers and good for our employees. But, we can't serve our employees, customers and communities if we are not there."

Dick's says it's holding a press conference Thursday morning.

Q13 has reached out to Sound Transit for comment.