The Double-Double isn’t here yet — but details of an animal-style entrance into Colorado are coming into focus.
In-N-Out Burger — which riled up local foodies late last year when it announced it was coming to the state — is still roughly two years away from serving its first legendary burger and fries in Colorado, said Carl Arena, the chain’s vice president of real estate and development.
The California-based chain will make its long-awaited splash in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2020, by way of a 100,000-square-foot distribution facility and a 150,000-square-foot office building — complete with a helipad, according to documents recently submitted to the city.
The first Colorado restaurant will open in Victory Ridge, a new mixed-use development in northeast Colorado Springs, documents show.
“It is great to be able to report progress being made, although we are still likely close to two years away from serving our first Double-Double in Colorado,” Arena said.
Andrew Klein, principal at Westside Investment Partners, which owns Victory Ridge, previously told The Denver Post that the Mile High City would get its first In-N-Out shortly after the chain opened in Colorado Springs.
In-N-Out hopes to begin construction this coming spring on the 22-acre distribution center and hamburger-patty production facility, according to planning documents. That process is scheduled to take well over a year, Arena said.
It’s still too early, he added, to say how many restaurants will open in the state.
“We do know that growth will be deliberate and controlled,” he said. “That has always been part of our strategy here at In-N-Out Burger.”
The development plan still needs to be approved by Colorado Springs city planners.
In-N-Out currently operates more than 340 stores in California, Utah, Texas, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada. Despite its celebrity status in the fast-food burger world, the family-owned chain has been notoriously reluctant to expand, choosing to keep up quality rather than franchising or going public.
