Neighbors have a beef with In-N-Out
Business owners near the popular burger stores complain that long drive-through lines deter their customers.
Their beef isn't with the burger.
Merchants near some Southern California In-N-Out Burger restaurants say their gripe is with growing traffic jams at drive-through lanes that are keeping customers from getting in and out of their stores.
Long lines of idling cars whose occupants are waiting for made-to-order double-doubles, fries and chocolate shakes sometimes spill into streets and block driveways and alleys, according to owners of adjacent businesses.
The traffic crunch has sent executives of the Irvine-based chain on a crash program to open new outlets to relieve pressure on existing In-N-Outs. The chain is also expanding its corps of young red-apron-clad workers with hand-held terminals outside to speed up drive-through lines.
"We try really hard to be good neighbors and not block people's driveways," said Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out Burger's vice president of planning and development. "Long after stores were built we've gone back and spent heavily to improve our capacity and order-taking ability."
Unlike most fast-food burger joints, In-N-Out doesn't put its meat on the grill until customers place their order.
Fans of In-N-Out say that freshness is one of the draws of the drive-through.
But neighbors' complaints are starting to pile up like the stack of beef patties and cheese slices on the famed In-N-Out "4x4" burger.
"The drive-through line is so long some days that it blocks our parking lot in the rear of our store," said Kitty Chu, manager of a Quizno's Subs shop next to an In-N-Out on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park. "We've lost a lot of customers because they can't get in. Our UPS driver can't even make deliveries during the noon rush."
The Canoga Park In-N-Out -- which opened last year in what had been a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop -- offers inside seating as well as drive-through service. The closest parking for dine-in patrons is in a small lot in front of Chu's shop, however.
A few miles away, at an In-N-Out in Woodland Hills, the drive-through line often spills out of the driveway and onto Ventura Boulevard. At busy times, waiting customers sometimes block the entrances to the 23-store Winnetka Square shopping center next door.
"They overflow into the street and into traffic-flow lanes," said Celso Acebal, a Pepsi driver making a delivery to the shopping center. "Those people are stubborn too. They won't move. They don't want to give up their spot in line."
