People waited as long as 14 hours to eat at Ridgefield’s new In-N-Out Burger

Washington’s first In-N-Out Burger is officially open in Ridgefield, and with it came incredibly long lines and wait times. Some customers had to wait a couple of hours before they could place their order.

“I cannot believe you held off on the instinct and the desire to roll down to be there for the open this morning,” KIRO host Spike O’Neill said. “I know how much you love them.”

“I almost did, then I remembered that I have a life and a family and work to do, but I do plan on going there as soon as I can,” KIRO host Jake Skorheim replied. “A friend of mine asked if we wanted to go. ‘Hey, let’s stay overnight in Ridgefield. Tuesday night. All the hotels will probably be booked up with In-N-Out people. It’ll be a blast, like a festival. And that’s not even a joke, I bet you.”

The first person to place an order at the Ridgefield In-N-Out Burger was Kevin Kehn from Milton. He arrived at the drive-thru line at 8:15 p.m. the night before, 14 hours before the store was officially scheduled to open.

According to KGW8, Kehn’s order included three double-doubles, three fries, and an unsalted “puppy patty” for his dog. For being first, Kehn additionally received a T-shirt, a burger coin, and a wristband.

“People just love to get in line. I’m not one of those people, but there are people who love to wait in line,” Jake said. “I’ve seen people wait in line for mediocre donuts. Wait in line for ice cream that I can’t have because I’m lactose intolerant. I’ve seen people wait in line for Cubano sandwiches. I love a good Cubano. They wait in line for those. They wait for everything. People just like waiting in line.”

“Here’s the thing. I’ve waited in line for concert tickets to a show I really want to see,” Spike said. “I mean, these days, you have to wait on the phone in line. You wait for hours and you don’t get through. In my day, you had to literally sleep on a sidewalk for three, four nights. I’ve done that numerous times throughout my youth.”

“Slept on the sidewalk?” Jake asked Spike to confirm.

“Absolutely,” Spike said.

In-N-Out Burger has an established team of “All-Stars”— a group of experienced, reliable, and trustworthy employees — who open new stores around the nation. The All-Stars work at a new store for the first couple of months to make sure everything is running smoothly before handing the location off to the local team.

The All-Stars are known as In-N-Out Burger’s 470 Team.

Listen to the full conversation here.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.