In-N-Out Burger: Is the Hype Worth the Hurdle of Expansion into Washington?

In-N-Out Burger is set to open its first restaurant in Washington state, the Irvine-based burger chain confirmed on Friday, March 1.

Mike Abbate, the vice president of store development, stated in an email that In-N-Out has filed a development application with the city of Ridgefield and will collaborate with the city on obtaining permits and approvals.

Ridgefield, with a population of about 12,000, is located in Clark County, the southernmost county in the state. The city is 20 minutes north of Portland, Oregon, and 2½ hours from Seattle.

"Our permitting and engineering team has worked closely with In-N-Out to ensure they are not only creating enough queuing spaces to avoid backups onto roads but also that the building's design will be unique, high-quality, and complementary to Ridgefield," the city commented on a Facebook post about traffic projects on Thursday.

It can take months or even years for building projects to navigate through the permitting and approval process in city governments before reaching the construction stage, as seen with the yearslong effort to bring In-N-Out to the Outlets at Orange. Once In-N-Out reaches the construction stage, the location is typically added to the “Opening Soon” page on its website. Currently, this page lists six locations: the Orange restaurant, Redlands, Oxnard, and Sylmar in California, as well as Layton, Utah, and Flagstaff, Arizona.