In-N-Out Burger in Dallas: Let’s Talk About It

Animal style double double in Long Beach.

My good friend Evan and I like to go to In-N-Out Burger. On a slow news day Evan half-heartedly encourages me to “throw up a post” on In-N-Out to get SideDish moving. It’s a hot topic and it keeps Twinwillow busy.

Rumors about In-N-Out Burger coming to Dallas have been swirling for years. I am sick of calling headquarters and getting the usual corporate retort: “At the moment we have no plans, blah, blah, blah, but that doesn’t mean that blah, blah, blah in the future.”

So last week when I shared a meal with a commercial real estate dude who promised me he was “on the inside” of the deal, I kept quiet. He gave me specific sites and growth plans and business strategies. I thought, wow I’m finally going to get confirmation and this is really going to happen.

Then I started to think. If In-N-Out Burger came to Dallas, where would I eat when I go to Las Vegas? Or Phoenix? Or Napa Valley?

Jack Bauer couldn’t save Krispy Kreme Donuts in Dallas.

Any of you remember the craziness that surrounded Krispy Kreme Donuts when they opened in Dallas? It was like an intense rescue scene from Season 7 of 24: A helicopter hovers over an urban Krispy Kreme store where thousands of innocent customers wait for hot donuts. Inside, a Russian terrorist inserts tiny nuclear rods into the cinnamon twists rolling off the line. Jack Bauer dangles on a rope from a helicopter. Spoiler alert: He  kills ten terrorists and hands a small Middle Eastern child a bag of warm glazed donuts. Fade out.

Sorry, I  got a little off track there but the point is that even Jack Bauer couldn’t save Krispy Kreme. Last year they closed nearly half of their Dallas-area stores.

I love the thrill of hitting an In-N-Out when I’m out of town. It’s a guilty pleasure.  Perhaps putting an In-N-Out Burger location by Bachman Lake would ruin the allure, mystique, and fascination of procuring an animal-style double double. Should we be careful what we ask for?