Cult following nothing new for In-N-Out

ST. GEORGE — Thanksgiving dinner is over, time to get back to the basic food groups, which is what brought me to the newest, and only, In-N-Out Burger within the boundaries of the great state of Utah.

The economy may be in freefall. Millions may be out of work. But look on the bright side. The hamburger stand that has a cult following has finally expanded into Utah.

It's been 60 years since Harry and Esther Snyder started selling burgers in Baldwin Park, Calif., just east of downtown Los Angeles, and instead of having carhops bring your food to your car, they hooked up a two-way speaker to a pole and let you order and pick up your own burger, shake and fries. The drive-through was born. All you had to do was find a car to go in and out.

This was a just a few years, incidentally, after another California hamburger stand was opened not far away in San Bernardino by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald.

McDonald's has since evolved into more than 31,000 restaurants located in 119 countries.

In-N-Out, on the other hand, has expanded to 224 locations, all but about 40 of them in California. It's only been in the past decade that it has spread out to Arizona, Nevada and, as of last March, the southern tip of Utah.

But if In-N-Out hasn't multiplied quite like McDonald's, it isn't for lack of positive, shall we say, feedback. The typical In-N-Out has more people in it than the Detroit Lions' backfield. It is busier than a California freeway. You'd think they were giving them away.

The St. George In-N-Out is no exception. The drive-through lane circled the block when we pulled up. The line to order at the counter stretched out the door, headed toward the trademark palm trees. Every table was full. That included one filled with college students who thought it would be fun to pop in for a late lunch — from BYU.

Nothing like a 500-mile jaunt for a burger.

I called the In-N-Out offices in California to see just how many burgers the average In-N-Out sells in a day and how that might compare to, say, the average McDonald's. But Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development, said those figures aren't public.

"I'm sorry I can't give you the comparisons you asked about, but we just don't share that information," he said. "I hope you understand our position. We are a private and family-owned company, and we don't discuss our sales. We own and operate all our restaurants ourselves."

Unlike McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Carl's Jr. and dozens of others, In-N-Out doesn't franchise. It clones. Every restaurant is corporate. Ingredients come from the same headquarters.