In-N-Out Burger just opened at The Village at Meridian. The drive-thru wait? Up to 8 hours

The estimated wait time for a meal by drive-thru at In-N-Out Burger’s new Meridian location was, by noon Tuesday, up to 8 hours.

Fans of the Irvine, California-based chain camped out overnight in their cars while dozens stood patiently outside in the 30-something degree weather Monday night to try to beat the crowds at the fast-food restaurant’s long-awaited opening at The Village at Meridian.

Construction on a store near Boise Towne Square mall is set to begin early next year, a company spokesperson said. A Nampa location is also in the works.

By the time the restaurant at 3520 E. Fairview Ave. opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, earlier than the regular store hours, hundreds of people were already waiting to roll through the drive-thru for burgers, fries and shakes in a procession of cars that snaked through The Village’s big parking lot. The line began in a dirt lot near Urban Outfitters, where a sign warned potential customers it could be a wait of 7-8 hours.

A line to get in the lobby curved out the door and along the sidewalk, stretching down Fairview Avenue, though it appeared to move more quickly.

Marvin and Jackie Mejia, both 34, of Meridian, arrived at 8:44 a.m. in a white SUV with their two nephews. Over two and a half hours later, they were just a dozen or so cars away from the front of the line. Both self-employed, the Mejias said they moved to Idaho a year ago from the Los Angeles area.

“We’ve been waiting for this day since April,” Jackie Mejia said. They ordered a double-double (a cheeseburger with two patties and two slices of cheese), a 4x4 (a cheeseburger with four patties and four slices of cheese), five regular cheeseburgers and a grilled cheese.

Asked when they planned to come back, Marvin joked, “probably tomorrow.” He said the traffic and long lines wouldn’t deter them; after all, they’re from one of the most populous cities in the country.

‘All-star team’ helps Idaho workers adjust

The Meridian restaurant is In-N-Out’s first in Idaho, and its 400th nationwide. It’ll employ about 80 workers with a starting wage of $17.50 an hour. For the opening, the company brought in about 130 employees from its “all-star team,” scattered at locations around the U.S., to train the locally hired Meridian crew of nearly 100 employees, said Denny Warnick, chief operating officer at In-N-Out, who shivered in the early morning cold near the front of the store. Warnick flew in from California for the opening.

“So far everything’s going really smoothly,” he told the Idaho Statesman. “We wanted to be prepared in the case that we’re blessed with long lines. We have a lot of associates just dedicated to helping traffic flow through the parking lot.”

The store is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Tammy Taub, of Eagle, stood in line at a merchandise trailer in the parking lot during the opening, hoping to purchase a pair of In-N-Out sweatpants, while her brother, who arrived at around 8:30 a.m., still worked his way through the drive-thru line in his car, hours after arriving.

“I like In-N-Out, but he’s very excited about it,” Taub said. “It’s definitely a thing. It’s like a phenomenon.”

Miranda Presson, 38, and Chase Presson, 39, who live together in Meridian, also arrived early. But instead of taking their chances in the drive-thru — where “you’re stuck,” she said — they decided to park and wait in line outside, which rendered service much more quickly. Their order included a pink lemonade and, from what In-N-Out calls the “Not So Secret Menu,” a “Flying Dutchman,” a burger with two slices of cheese melted between two patties. They also ordered a burger “protein style,” meaning the patty is wrapped in hand-leafed lettuce instead of a bun.

She set a timer on her phone after ordering, to see how long it’d take to get their food. As she spoke with a Statesman reporter on the restaurant’s patio, the timer ticked past 45 minutes. In-N-Out employees came out every few minutes to check on them and others, who waited underneath outdoor heaters hung from an awning.

The Pressons, who moved from Southern California three years ago, said they’d been anticipating the chain opening a restaurant in Idaho for years.

So had Jessica and Ulysses Valentine, both 32, of Nampa, who arrived spontaneously Tuesday morning with their three young daughters, one 5 months old and in a stroller. Jessica Valentine said they initially planned to let “the craziness die down first” but since they didn’t have any other plans for the day, they thought, “why not?” Their oldest daughter, Charlotte, said she wanted a milkshake and to play at a Boise park after.

“We both grew up in California, so this was a staple in our lives before moving here,” Jessica Valentine told the Statesman.

Her husband said he wanted to order a double-double “animal style,” meaning the two patties are mustard-cooked and served with a helping of pickles, chopped grilled onions and extra In-N-Out sauce, which is a blend of mayonnaise, ketchup and sweet pickle relish.

The first customer on opening day typically receives a free-burger coin, said Diego Lopez, who works at an In-N-Out location in Yucaipa, California. Lopez, 20, drove from Salt Lake City to attend the opening with his friend Riley Lovato, also 20, of Boise. Lovato moved from California in February, and is looking forward to the chain’s Boise location.

On Tuesday, Lopez arrived at 5 a.m., hoping to be the first customer. But there were already about 50 cars in line, he said, as well as people “tenting out” near the store’s front door.

“I think, why I like In-N-Out so much, is because they really value the associates, the guests and the community,” Lopez told the Statesman. “It’s not just about the burgers.”

Waiting out the ‘frenzy’ — or skipping it altogether

Dennis and Doris Du Bois, both 81, of Eagle, also attended the Meridian opening — not to order food, but just to check it out. They, too, previously lived in California, in the Los Angeles area, and knew the lines would be hours-long on the first day. They plan to return in a week or two when the “frenzy is over.”

“It’s kind of a big event,” Dennis Du Bois said.

Doris Du Bois said she liked that In-N-Out prints Bible verses on its packaging. On milkshake cups, you’ll find Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Soda cups display John 3:16 and burger wrappers Revelation 3:20. She said the burger chain is also a good bang for your buck.

“They have really good quality food and it’s inexpensive compared to a lot of places,” Doris Du Bois said.

While the restaurant’s opening was a momentous occasion for many, others didn’t find it worth the hype, with several people pledging online to spend their money at other, local burger joints.

“Everyone’s pumped over the new burger joint, but I’m over here just waiting for them to finish Weinerschnitzel,” Lindsay Bennett wrote in Boise Food Finds, a private Facebook group. Wienerschnitzel, also based in Irvine, California, is slated to open its first Idaho store early next year at 3110 W. Quintale Drive in Meridian.

“Who cares,” Whitney Laursen, of Boise, commented. “It’s a hamburger.”

But fans and haters of In-N-Out alike could agree on one thing: The extra traffic the restaurant’s opening will bring to the corner of Fairview Avenue and Eagle Road, already one of the busiest intersections in the state, won’t be pleasant to navigate.

“Was it possible to choose a worse place? I’ll wait months for the crowds to die down before I go,” Anamaria Zavala wrote.

The chain’s planned Boise restaurant at 140 N. Milwaukee St. will bring increased traffic to the area surrounding the Boise Towne Square mall, too. And another location is slated along a busy strip in Nampa. According to a building application filed with the city earlier this year, that store would be at 16225 N. Marketplace Blvd., where TGI Fridays used to operate in the Treasure Valley Marketplace, the Statesman previously reported.

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