In-N-Out to Open Third Houston Location at Willowbrook Mall

In fact, every new In-N-Out store that comes up in any part of the country is welcomed with great fanfare.

This beloved California-based chain will spread its wings further in the country with a new store in Houston’s Willowbrook Mall. This location will be In-N-Out’s third outlet in northwest Houston, after having made public its plans for the other two stores in Stafford and Katy.

Plan Timeline and Location

There is no timeline or store opening date clearly mentioned. But, according to Carl Arena, VP of real estate at In-N-Out, the new location should be up and running within six months from the date of construction. As of now, April 2019, the project is very much in its nascent stages, but the team at In-N-Out is quite enthusiastic about the location and the prospects of being in such a vibrant part of Houston.

Arena, however, revealed some details about the plan. The Willowbrook Mall location would have seating indoors for a maximum of 70 customers, along with a drive-thru lane. Chase Bank was at this location before and already had a drive-thru built.

Plans for Other Two Locations

Incidentally, the other two sites are in planning and construction phase too. This means Houstonians would have to wait at least till November 2019 for their first bite of the legendary In-N-Out burger when the Stafford location opens its doors to the locals. The Katy site would be functional later the same year.

Unlike the other two locations, the Willowbrook Mall store would be within city limits. The City of Houston supports this, after several sign permits had been filed in the year 2016 at the place. On April 2, 2019, a waste and water application was filed.

Red Tape and Bureaucracy

In-N-Out has still a lot of approvals and red tape to take care of. This is exactly the reason why the company is unable to fix a date for the location’s opening. Once the various processes reach their maturity phase, further updates would come out. As aforementioned, no construction work has begun yet.

In-N-Out was not earlier stoked about building a location in Houston due to the city’s lack of connectivity to Interstate 35 and the company’s closest distribution center being almost 500 miles away from the city. However, the Westheimer Road land purchase in 2017 changed its outlook toward the place.