In-N-Out Still Has No Plans to Open Another San Francisco Location

Considering that false promises of new In-N-Out Burger locations have become something of an April Fools' cliche in the Bay Area, you'd think the beloved burger chain would be getting its rear in gear on actually trying to satisfy demand in this increasingly populated yet burger-starved corner of California. But In-N-Out doesn't have any plans at the moment to expand its San Francisco outposts beyond the lone Fisherman's Wharf location, or to open locations in downtown Oakland or Berkeley, either. "We grow pretty slowly here at In-N-Out and, while we are always looking for new opportunities and potential locations, we are not currently working on a specific site in San Francisco," said Carl Van Fleet, the company's vice president for planning and development, in a response to an inquiry from Eater. "With that said, our real estate team is active throughout the Bay Area, as we do hope to add restaurants there in the future."

We asked Van Fleet if he could tell us more about what's holding In-N-Out back from further expansion in these parts (pricey real estate? the increased minimum wage?), but received no response. One factor could be that In-N-Out locations without drive-thrus don't really align with how the company perceives itself as a brand: out of 300 In-N-Out locations, only six lack a drive-thru, and two of those are in the Bay Area (the aforementioned Fisherman's Wharf location, as well as the location in Mill Valley). Or maybe the company's famously religious founding family just doesn't want to serve burgers to us godless heathens. In any case, if you're hoping for more In-N-Out in these parts, you'll have to keep hoping, though the chain will be opening a new location in Alameda pretty soon.