In-N-Out has made it to Salem with an insanely busy location, and supposedly once they're done with their big Colorado launch then they're landing in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to happen sooner than later as I've heard their people have boots on the ground looking at locations already in the Vancouver-Camas-Washougal area. Their model now for expansion is to drop in a processing plant/distribution center and open four or five locations at the same time within 50 miles to get off the ground then fill in the local market over the next 24 months. Then they go for more distance, secondary markets that the plant can serve. They will service any area that is a 6 hour or less drive from the plant which is how they ensure freshness. If they drop a plant into the area just north of Vancouver they could service hundreds of restaurants throughout all of Washington and Oregon plus get into Idaho. My prediction is that they open the first stores in 2023 and will stick to the Portland area then go north to Seattle. Lots of great locations on I-5 along the way.
There is news last week that Meridian, Idaho has secured an In-n-Out Burger to its outdoor semi-luxury lifestyle center, Village at Meridian. Meridian is Idaho's second largest city and rapidly grown with out of state relocations, so that's that. In-N-Out Burger applies to open at Village at Meridian
I wonder where this northwest commissary is going to be built and I wish they'd speed up with actual Portland area locations already.
SamSpade wrote: ↑March 25th, 2022, 11:56 am
This quote is from ClownLoach in another thread:
In-N-Out has made it to Salem with an insanely busy location, and supposedly once they're done with their big Colorado launch then they're landing in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to happen sooner than later as I've heard their people have boots on the ground looking at locations already in the Vancouver-Camas-Washougal area. Their model now for expansion is to drop in a processing plant/distribution center and open four or five locations at the same time within 50 miles to get off the ground then fill in the local market over the next 24 months. Then they go for more distance, secondary markets that the plant can serve. They will service any area that is a 6 hour or less drive from the plant which is how they ensure freshness. If they drop a plant into the area just north of Vancouver they could service hundreds of restaurants throughout all of Washington and Oregon plus get into Idaho. My prediction is that they open the first stores in 2023 and will stick to the Portland area then go north to Seattle. Lots of great locations on I-5 along the way.
There is news last week that Meridian, Idaho has secured an In-n-Out Burger to its outdoor semi-luxury lifestyle center, Village at Meridian. Meridian is Idaho's second largest city and rapidly grown with out of state relocations, so that's that. In-N-Out Burger applies to open at Village at Meridian
I wonder where this northwest commissary is going to be built and I wish they'd speed up with actual Portland area locations already.
Might be the final push for Burgerville...
Burgerville may be smart to try and sell them some real estate.
In 'n Out probably has a better chance than most chains of succeeding in the Pacific Northwest (especially since a lot of the growth in the area seems to be fueled by people moving up here from California) but the track record of chains expanding into the Seattle area has been spotty at best.
There have been a number of outright failures (notably Boston Market in the late 90s and Baja Fresh in the late 2000s) and chains that made big plans that never quite materialized (Del Taco, Fatburger, Carl's Jr., Popeyes and Sonic have all tried to expand into the Seattle area but have generally managed only a handful of locations mostly outside of King County and none in Seattle city limits.) Even well established chains have had a hard time maintaining locations here (Denny's has been shrinking here for some time, Skipper's is pretty much gone now aside from gas station deli locations, and Taco Del Mar is still around for the most part but not exactly thriving.)
There have been a couple that have succeeded reasonably well (Chick-Fil-A has gained a pretty good foothold and seems to be continuing to open locations, and Mod Pizza and Top Pot Doughnuts have succeeded mostly by being homegrown chains.) but King County in general and Seattle in particular seems to be a tough market to get into. When it comes to In-N-Out, they would also have to contend with some well established and very popular local burger chains (most notably Dick's Drive In and Burgermaster) as well.
SamSpade wrote: ↑March 25th, 2022, 11:56 am
This quote is from ClownLoach in another thread:
In-N-Out has made it to Salem with an insanely busy location, and supposedly once they're done with their big Colorado launch then they're landing in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to happen sooner than later as I've heard their people have boots on the ground looking at locations already in the Vancouver-Camas-Washougal area. Their model now for expansion is to drop in a processing plant/distribution center and open four or five locations at the same time within 50 miles to get off the ground then fill in the local market over the next 24 months. Then they go for more distance, secondary markets that the plant can serve. They will service any area that is a 6 hour or less drive from the plant which is how they ensure freshness. If they drop a plant into the area just north of Vancouver they could service hundreds of restaurants throughout all of Washington and Oregon plus get into Idaho. My prediction is that they open the first stores in 2023 and will stick to the Portland area then go north to Seattle. Lots of great locations on I-5 along the way.
There is news last week that Meridian, Idaho has secured an In-n-Out Burger to its outdoor semi-luxury lifestyle center, Village at Meridian. Meridian is Idaho's second largest city and rapidly grown with out of state relocations, so that's that. In-N-Out Burger applies to open at Village at Meridian
I wonder where this northwest commissary is going to be built and I wish they'd speed up with actual Portland area locations already.
I have yet to visit an In-N-Out. They generally have a good reputation, but the large crowds are a turn-off for me. I think they are wise to take an expansion slowly. There is a lot of anti-California sentiment present in the Pacific Northwest, especially in areas such as Boise which have seen population booms and skyrocketing real estate. There are some people that view In-N-Out as further "Californization" and will not go there. I think that, as established chains continue to falter such as Burger King, as well as local chains such as Burgerville, In-N-Out has a good opportunity to establish itself.
SamSpade wrote: ↑March 25th, 2022, 11:56 am
This quote is from ClownLoach in another thread:
In-N-Out has made it to Salem with an insanely busy location, and supposedly once they're done with their big Colorado launch then they're landing in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to happen sooner than later as I've heard their people have boots on the ground looking at locations already in the Vancouver-Camas-Washougal area. Their model now for expansion is to drop in a processing plant/distribution center and open four or five locations at the same time within 50 miles to get off the ground then fill in the local market over the next 24 months. Then they go for more distance, secondary markets that the plant can serve. They will service any area that is a 6 hour or less drive from the plant which is how they ensure freshness. If they drop a plant into the area just north of Vancouver they could service hundreds of restaurants throughout all of Washington and Oregon plus get into Idaho. My prediction is that they open the first stores in 2023 and will stick to the Portland area then go north to Seattle. Lots of great locations on I-5 along the way.
There is news last week that Meridian, Idaho has secured an In-n-Out Burger to its outdoor semi-luxury lifestyle center, Village at Meridian. Meridian is Idaho's second largest city and rapidly grown with out of state relocations, so that's that. In-N-Out Burger applies to open at Village at Meridian
I wonder where this northwest commissary is going to be built and I wish they'd speed up with actual Portland area locations already.
I have yet to visit an In-N-Out. They generally have a good reputation, but the large crowds are a turn-off for me. I think they are wise to take an expansion slowly. There is a lot of anti-California sentiment present in the Pacific Northwest, especially in areas such as Boise which have seen population booms and skyrocketing real estate. There are some people that view In-N-Out as further "Californization" and will not go there. I think that, as established chains continue to falter such as Burger King, as well as local chains such as Burgerville, In-N-Out has a good opportunity to establish itself.
If there is an anti-California sentiment, it hasn't shown up yet. The two Oregon locations continue to have massive lines years after they opened.
I'm not sure why people think Burgerville is faltering. While I'm not a fan due to the questionable value, they do have a following and also have had long lines. Burger King is clearly having issues. I just saw one of their newer and nicer locations shut down in Beaverton, OR.
In N Out being from California is meaningless to the average consumer. The reason people are flocking to In N Out is because they offer a quality product at an attractive price point and have great customer service. If anything chains like In N Out that do such an exceptional job with their operation are a positive reflection on California, not a negative reflection.
Many fast food chains are headquartered in California- Chipotle, Del Taco, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, and I am sure many others I am missing. Customers don't make any connection to them being from California; they make their choice to go to those chains because they like the food and/or locations.
I would imagine that more locations will start to be named - I can't imagine that this Idaho location is being serviced by Norcal, Las Vegas, or Denver? It must be aligned with wherever they will drop a commissary into Washington state.
I agree with the comments about Seattle and King County, but there are plenty of surrounding areas to build that will bring in big bucks for In-N-Out.
ClownLoach wrote: ↑April 7th, 2022, 6:28 pm
I would imagine that more locations will start to be named - I can't imagine that this Idaho location is being serviced by Norcal, Las Vegas, or Denver? It must be aligned with wherever they will drop a commissary into Washington state.
I agree with the comments about Seattle and King County, but there are plenty of surrounding areas to build that will bring in big bucks for In-N-Out.
Where are the Utah locations being supplied from? My guess is that at least some southern Idaho locations (places like Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Burley or Pocatello) could come from the same source, although the Boise area might be a stretch from there, since it's about a 4 1/2 hour drive from the northernmost Utah location (Ogden).
