With the anticipation of the doors opening at 10:30 a.m. at In-N-Out Burger’s first Washington state location in Ridgefield, the early birds received a special treat as the ribbon was cut and the doors opened right at 8:36 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
During the day, traffic remained minimal on the roadways but, later on, the masses rushed to the burger joint after sundown as traffic cameras showed the line of eager burger eaters reaching Pioneer Street. It was reported throughout Facebook that burgers sold on day one may have eclipsed the 10,000 mark.
The massive burger total and consistent flow of people from opening to close through the week and weekend since the Aug. 20 opening also translated into record social media engagement on The Reflector’s Facebook page. Three posts regarding In-N-Out Burger cracked a million views in two days each while total views across all In-N-Out related posts hit 5 million views by press time.
“It definitely was a really big day for the city just because of all of the influx of people coming down,” Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole said.
As people flocked from the entire Pacific Northwest region to get a taste of the Southern California burger chain with a cult-like following, In-N-Out Burger brought the “All-Stars.”
Quite a few workers on opening day and beyond are what In-N-Out calls “All-Stars” who have been with the company for multiple years and lead locations elsewhere. The all-stars were on site in Ridgefield packed with smiles assisting the Ridgefield associates with the opening day crowd.
“I think the expectation was that there were going to be a lot of people from outside of our community coming in, but there were a lot of Ridgefield residents too,” Cole said. “And that’s really important, I think, to recognize because this is right in their yard and this is part of our community now.”
A lot of the workers have never been to the area, just like In-N-Out Burger itself.
“When we go to a new market like this, it’s always, you know, you don’t know quite what to expect, but I’ll tell you, the community has been so welcoming and wonderful,” Warnick said. “We have wonderful new associates working here from this community. It felt great this morning at 6:30 a.m. as we had customers already coming and ready to have a burger for breakfast.”
Cole added that a major emphasis for the first month will be executing portions of the opening week traffic management plan for when large influxes of vehicles arrive.
In-N-Out Burger will employ 80 associates upon opening in Ridgefield, with wages starting at $18.75 per hour. Clint Ford, a 26-year veteran of In-N-Out, will manage the Ridgefield restaurant, a press release by In-N-Out stated.
Cole said as the city continues to develop, businesses of high quality such as In-N-Out and Costco are attracted to the community.
“It’s always good to see good brands come to your community,” Cole said. “These are companies that aren’t just known for their great products for great customer service and have a loyal following, but they’re also companies that treat their people well and who bring value to their community. That’s something that I get excited about.”
The Ridgefield In-N-Out Burger location will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and until 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Signs along Ridgefield city streets will lead customers to the drive-thru and walk-in parking staging area for the time being.
