It's all happening
Looks like it's happening: In-N-Out Burger purchases property in Houston
Houston's long civic nightmare may finally be coming to an end. Soon, diners across the city could be lining up for double-double animal-style burgers and Neapolitan shakes.
After years of rumors and speculation, In-N-Out Burger appears to have concrete plans to open in Houston. The California-based burger chain has purchased property at 8373 Westheimer, according to Harris County records (first posted to the Houston Architecture Info Forum and quickly reposted on reddit).
The purchase confirms news that first circulated in February that cult favorite had started making definitive plans to come to Houston. In-N-Out downplayed those reports, but HCAD doesn't lie.
Purchasing property is only the first step in this process, of course. The restaurant still has to be designed and approved for city permits and then built. Employees will have to be hired and trained. Still, the purchase is the first concrete sign that In-N-Out is coming to town.
CultureMap has contacted In-N-Out for more information about its plans and when the location might open. We will update this article as soon as they respond.
Update: In response to CultureMap's request for comment, Carl Arena, In-N-Out's vice president of development, writes the following:
Thank you for contacting us, and thank you for your interest in In-N-Out Burger.
While it’s true that we have purchased property in Houston as a potential future restaurant, we are still evaluating our opportunities there and are in the very, very early stages of that process. I anticipate it will be more than a year before any further progress develops.
Although we look forward to the possibility of future opportunities in Houston it would be extremely premature to speculate when or even if we will open a restaurant there. I’m sorry we can’t be more specific at this time, we don’t want to mislead your readers. We appreciate your checking in with us.
