Kidd Valley is not a kid any more. The 50's style local burger chain is turning 30 and celebrating its birthday from Tuesday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 30 with a myriad of fun and special offers at all of its locations except its stadium locations.

The celebration kicks off on Tuesday, September 27 with 1975 prices on its signature ¼ pound burgers and cheeseburgers all day. The local icon is rolling back the price to 95 cents, the same price the first Kidd Valley opened with 30 years ago. An added bonus: Each guest that day will leave with “Buy One Get One Free” burger or sandwich coupon for their next visit.

To spread 30 th anniversary cheer, the first 30 Kidd Valley customers at 3 p.m. will receive a gift card from Sept. 28 through Oct. 9 at all Kidd Valley locations, excluding stadiums. Guests may also purchase or reload Kidd Valley's new gift cards for $25 or more and get a gift of $5 free throughout the 30 th anniversary celebration.

There's even more – no kidding!

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the first 10,000 kids ages 12 and under to enter Safeco Field at the Mariners game will be awarded a $5 Kidd Valley gift certificate. Grownups and kids alike will have fun with a special trivia contest from Sept. 28 through Oct. 30 in all the restaurants and can figure out the answers while munching and tapping their toes to Kidd Valley's trademark oldies music. Winners receive one regular size shake. And speaking of shakes… a special 30 th anniversary caramel apple shake will be Kidd Valley's Secret Hand Shake for the celebration.

The Story of The Kidd

This local icon can be traced back to the fishing trips founder John Morris took with his father as a youngster. A favorite spot for Morris's family was Camp Kid -- an old logging camp at the base of Mount St. Helens, located near a primitive general store that served freshly-made burgers and delicious milkshakes. Morris' fondness for the tasty burgers and shakes stuck with him into his adult years.

Those memories were triggered one day in 1975, when he spotted a “For Sale” sign in the window of a former Dairy Delight in the U-District. Realizing that Seattle had yet to establish its own specialty hamburger and milkshake tradition, Morris opened Seattle's first Kidd Valley hamburger restaurant at 5502 25 th Ave. N.E. in 1975 .

Today, Kidd Valley has expanded to 11 locations throughout Western Washington and nine locations at Safeco Field, Qwest Field and Everett Events Center. The chain annually sells nearly 1,114,000 burgers and sandwiches – an amount so great that if placed side by side, they would span more than 1,547 football field lengths. Kidd Valley annually sells more than 389,000 shakes. If stacked, the shake containers would reach the height of 48 Space Needles. They also sell more than 920,000 side orders of mushrooms, onion rings and a variety of fries including garlic, jalapeno, and chili fries.

The saga of the Kidd Valley logo

Seattle artist Brad Ingham created the original logo known as the Kidd Valley Burger Babe. He based the babe's look on popular styles in 1975 – curly hair, stacked shoes, short shorts called “hot pants,” and a polka dot blouse. She posed atop a burger based on an image from a Playboy magazine advertisement.

Uncomfortable with the image of a “Babe on a Bun,” the company created a new logo in 1997 – a caricature of the letter “K” carrying a Kidd Valley burger. The company replaced the old Burger Babe signs with the new Kidd logo, except at the original location in the U-District. However, before that sign could be replaced, that Kidd Valley Burger Babe was kidnapped. Persuaded by an offer of a year's supply of burgers, fries and shakes, and facing a move from his residence, an anonymous admirer returned the sign.

The Original Kidd Valley Burger Babe icon was inducted into Museum of History and Industry archives on April 21, 2001. In 2000 Kidd Valley had a contest to name a new Burger Babe in honor of its 25 th anniversary to be featured in a collectible poster. The winner was Bethany Clement who entered the contest as an undercover reporter for the Seattle Weekly and ended up winning based on the strength of her essay describing eating burgers as a child with her father. Although s he had planned to write her article about the societal inadequacies of beauty contests, she came to understand the contest was a tongue in cheek display doing just that. Incidentally, one of the many contestants was a man. So far there have been no incidents with the new logo.

The Kidd Valley Difference

Kidd Valley burgers and shakes are different from other burger restaurants because the burgers are made from fresh angus beef, not frozen patties, and each is flame broiled and made to order. The buns are also toasted. Likewise, Kidd Valley's signature shakes are hand-mixed at the time of the order and feature a variety of seasonal fruit flavors as well as the traditional chocolate and vanilla.

Kidd Valley's side dishes are also created on site, hand-cut and breaded daily using the freshest ingredients available. The sweet onion rings are made with fresh Walla Walla onions when in season, and the batter-dipped and fried mushroom caps are a unique compl e ment to Kidd Valley's selection of burgers and sandwiches.

The emphasis on fresh, traditional burgers and shakes has earned Kidd Valley numerous honors. Frequently mentioned in “Best of…” reader and viewer polls, Kidd Valley hamburgers and shakes remain favorites of Seattle and Eastside residents. The Kidd Valley booths are the highest selling food booths at Safeco Field, Qwest Field and Everett Events Center proving it a crowd favorite. The stadium venues gave inspiration to a new menu item too -- Grounders Garlic Fries. They have proven to be very popular –nearly 190,000 orders were sold last year.

Locations and Hours

Kidd Valley's 11 locations are Alderwood Mall, Aurora, Bellevue, Capitol Hill, Greenlake, Kenmore, Kirkland, Northgate Mall, Queen Anne, Renton, and the University District. They are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m . except during the summer when they are open from 11 a.m . to 10 p.m. Six locations are in are Safeco Field, Qwest Field and at the Everett Events Center.

More info at www.kiddvalley.com