Wyoming fans of the popular hamburger joint In-N-Out Burger will soon have another location to choose from as the chain is opening its first restaurant in Denver.
The popular restaurant, which has a cult-like following around the country, does have other locations in suburbs of the Mile High City but this one is the first in the actual city limits.
This restaurant will be located a block north of Interstate 70 in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood.
With the addition of this location, there are seven In-N-Outs in Colorado and zero in Wyoming.
Unless you are a burger aficionado, you might think who cares? A burger is a burger is a burger.
Not to In-N-Out fans.
Cult-Like Following
Some followers of this chain make their travel plans around the restaurant. Others camp-out before a new restaurant is opened.
Is the food really that fantastic or is just pop-culture run amok and it’s cool because it’s cool?
While that can be debated forever, fans say the difference of In-N-Out is the simplicity of the menu, the secret menu, and that the ingredients are always fresh.
That last point can give Wyomingites hope that one day an In-N-Out could open in the Cowboy State.
What About Wyoming?
Denny Warnick, Chief Operating Officer for In-N-Out, made no promises but did tell Cowboy State Daily that a factor in the opening of a restaurant is the proximity to one of their distribution centers.
“We deliver fresh product to each In-N-Out location at least every other day,” Warnick said. “Our hamburger patties are de-boned and ground from whole chucks by our own team of butchers, so we can never build and open a new restaurant that is too great a distance from one of our facilities.”
How far is far?
Warnick didn’t say.
300 Miles
But the former vice president of planning and development at In-N-Out told Business Insider that the distance must be within 300 miles.
“All the food delivered has to be within 300 miles of an official distribution facility so that it arrives fresh and stays that way, hence the most flavorful hamburger patty you’ll ever eat,” he said.
The closest In-N-Out distribution center is in Colorado Springs, 188 miles from Cheyenne. So the capital city certainly qualifies.
Laramie also makes the cut. Torrington and Wheatland too. Even Rock River and Medicine Bow qualify. And coming just under the wire is Rawlins at 296.5 miles from Colorado Springs.
Likely? No.
Warnick, nicely, dispelled any real chance of the restaurant opening in Wyoming soon.
“We will likely focus our Colorado restaurant growth on the areas near Denver and Colorado Springs for some time before expanding much further,” he said.
“We currently operate seven locations in Colorado and have felt very welcomed in each of the communities, and by the customers who have stopped in from near and far.”
