Customers Meet 8-Hour Wait for Idaho's First In-N-Out Burger

Idaho's demand for In-N-Out Burger was apparent on Tuesday.

According to the Idaho Statesmen, customers experienced wait times as high as eight hours, as the state's first In-N-Out location opened at 9 a.m., unusually earlier than other locations that are primarily on the West Coast. The first In-N-Out Burger opened in Los Angeles' Baldwin Park in 1948, also marking California's first drive-thru burger stand.

In Meridan, a Boise suburb, some were anticipating eats from the fast food chain's "Not So Secret Menu," including Double Meat, Protein Style and Animal Style burgers. To be first in line, residents slept in their cars, or waited outside in chilly 30-degree weather, per East Idaho News. The location marks the 400th In-N-Out Burger location, while the chain plans to open spots in Tennessee and New Mexico before the end of the decade.

But the first-day rush wasn't a surprise to Idaho's Ada County Highway District, who told Boise Dev that they planned traffic control procedures for customers. In 2020, an In-N-Out Burger location opened in Aurora, Colorado, and drive-thru lines held a a wait time of up to 12 hours long.

“This is not to say there won’t be congestion—we expect that there will be. Signal timing is only one factor, and of course, it only affects the actual roadway,” said ACHD spokesperson Rachel Bjornestad.

To halt the Meridan In-N-Out Burger from being slammed, Boise Dev writes that two more locations are rumored to come to Idaho, both in Nampa and Boise.