For a while there, it seemed like In-N-Out Burger was going to skip right over New Mexico. The chain operates restaurants in all of the surrounding states.
But the Irvine, Calif.-based chain this week said New Mexico's In-N-Out drought will finally come to an end. But not until 2027.
In-N-Out posted on Instagram this week that a restaurant will be coming to the Albuquerque area, a move that the company hinted might happen earlier this year, when it revealed plans to open in Tennessee for the first time. In January, In-N-Out said it plans to open a U.S. territory office outside of Nashville, and restaurants are also planned there, but not until 2026.
Since the chain serves never-frozen beef and controls distribution, growth has always been limited to locations within 300 miles or so of a meat distribution center.
In-N-Out, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is already operating in the states around New Mexico, including Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. The chain told the Albuquerque Journal that the restaurants to come there will be served by a distribution facility in Colorado Springs, Colo.
After first opening in that state in 2020, the 385-unit chain is reportedly opening its first location in Northern Colorado this week in Loveland, where officials were already giving warnings about navigating the potential traffic impact.
And the first In-N-Out in Idaho is under construction in Meridian, and is expected to open later this year.
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