The Glade 4.0

Only caught a quick glimpse on my way out the door this morning, but there was mention of In-n-Out burger coming to Texas. Please please please! I have been craving a double double for a decade.

O' course, my wife is Canadian, and to her a double double comes from Tim Horton's, and is made of coffee. Damned heathens.

I just got off the phone with In N Out HQ, yes, they are definitely planning on expanding into Texas, no they do not have a city or time-frame yet. They asked me if I would like to suggest a city, I didn't.

1 800 786-1000, get that cell phone out, call them and tell them where you want them to come and open a shop. Heck, tell them you'll run a store if they move to your town.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Well, I have been looking for a new career...

I will definitely have to give them a call, and tell them Dallas, and/or Austin. Not sure if El Paso is up to the task.

I'd do the 3 hour drive to Austin for a double double.

Just called 'em, got a political "cannot confirm/deny", but I told them there are a lot of folks from California here, and advised they look at Dallas and Austin.

What are the franchise buy-in costs associated with In-and-Out?

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Privately owned, no franchise.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Really? That's a poor business model.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

It works for them. They're pretty strict about their quality, and I believe that franchises in their eyes would dilute that.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Not at all, it actually improves it. Also just because something works does not mean that there are not other ways that work better. It's the reason that franchising has well surpassed private ownership as the stanard model that all the big boys use.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

It may not be the best business model, but surely it isn't a poor one, as this particular enterprise is very successful

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Franchising certainly works well, but it does dilute quality unless you run a very tight ship. Go to a Dunkin' Donuts, for instance, you may get a different experience at each one. I certainly can see it. I think franchising is a good way to expand rapidly in the market though. For instance, Weight Watchers used to have franchises, but they wanted to gain more consistency across the county and world so they bought up franchises. It wasn't that the franchises were poor. They just weren't delivering the level of consistency you get when you own your own storefronts.

That being said. I've heard much good out of In-and-Out Burger. Unfortunately, being an East Coaster whose been to the West Coast all of one time, I haven't had the chance to taste it yet. But I have heard many words of praise. I hope it comes this way sometime. I finally got to experience the greatness that is Sonic and Chipotle Mexican Grill. I are happy.

In-N-Out does a lot of things differently than most fast food operations. They pay far more than average wages to their employees, hoping to retain talent that way. They also completely control their supply chain for all their restaurants. They have stringent requirements for their buns-they do them some old-fasioned sponge dough way that has been abandoned by most bakeries. They also only use Kennebec (sp?) potatoes for their fries that they contract to farmers for (most people would probably say the fries could use improvement...but sometimes they just hit the spot, /shrug)... The slow expansion creates a sense of scarcity and exclusivity that guarantees huge crowds when they open a new restaurant. In Arizona, when they first expanded into the market, there were huge long lines, with employees with tablet remote terminals walking down the lines of cars taking orders...because the usual drive through terminal wasn't efficient enough for lines that long. Given the fact that this happens with every new market they expand into, I dont think the owners have any complaints about their business model.

The supply chain thing is what may make you wait, damaged. Pretty much every state they've expanded into has bordered Cali or a state that borders Cali. I don't think they can skip over New Mexico to Texas without breaking that contingent with California policy

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

I don't expect one to pop up overnight. I just want to see one here. I'm willing to wait for them to iron out the supply logistics so I know I'm getting a real In-n-Out burger, and not some halfwit's attempt to make it out of whatever they scraped out of the bin out behind McDonalds.