OLYMPIA, Wash. — Eastside Big Tom in Olympia is positively pre-historic in a couple of ways — it's got dinosaurs, and this distinction.
"It's Washington state's oldest fast food drive-through restaurant,” said owner Michael Fritsch.
Eastside Big Tom (calling it Tom's is a tell you're not a local) has been around since 1948. Fritsch's father bought it in '69.
As for the dinosaurs? Blame COVID.
"I took all the money that I normally spend on going to Mexico twice a year and I bought 29 dinosaurs,” Fritsch said.
There are dinos in the bushes, dinos on the tables, and dinos adorning the signs.
"I love dinosaurs,” Fritsch said.
So do the kids who come here.
Because what's better than sharing a shake with a T-Rex?
"We love this place. Good food, great milkshakes, and the kids love it and we love it,” said Kelsey Abel of Olympia, who was enjoying burgers and shakes with her boys and a herd of plastic dinosaurs.
Eastside Big Tom also has a resident artist of sorts. Olympia art legend Vince Reiland does dino touch ups and hand paints the plywood cutouts of famous characters (Spock, Hello Kitty, Elvis just to name a few) adorning the place — who all have one thing in common.
"The hair. The original caricature of Tom has that black hair with the little curl on it. About 90 percent of the cutouts have it figured in there someplace,” Fritsch explained. The original Tom, by the way, was one of the original owner’s sons.
The menu's simple, and humans and dinosaurs agree the burgers and crinkle cut fries are tasty.
And orders come with a secret sauce called ‘Goop’ that's trademarked — and is treasured by regulars.
Always ask what shake flavors are new — Orange Creamsicle and Nerdz were the shakes dujour when we stopped by. The secret menu includes a carnivore's delight called the Mega Tom — five slices of meat, five pieces of bacon, and five slices of cheese.
“And a whole lotta delicious,” Fritsch said.
It's a jungle out there for any small burger joint, but it’s clear from the lunchtime line-up of cars coming in two lanes at a time that Eastside Big Tom has it figured out. Because the only thing better than a burger and fries is a burger and fries with dinosaurs on the side.
“There is a generation of children coming up who don't know the name of our restaurant," Fritsch said. "They don't know we're Eastside Big Tom. We're the dinosaur restaurant."
He doesn’t mind though, as long as his place remains a local legend.
“To me, the idea that 20 years from now, 30 years from now, families sitting around talking about the weird crap they did when they were kids, if they can say, 'Do you remember that weird restaurant we used to go to where they had dinosaurs?’ I’ll be happy.”
Eastside Big Tom is currently open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m., and is located at 2023 Fourth Ave. E. Olympia, WA 98501. (360) 357-4852.
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