Friday Aside: A History of In-N-Out Burger in San Bernardino and environs
October 12, 2012 Leave a comment
By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
I’ve written about In-N-Out Burger a few times, particularly in relation to trade dress. Someone reached my blog by asking “when did in n out open first in san bernardino ca.” If the searcher was seeking when the Fifth Street location (795 W. Fifth Street, San Bernardino) was built, that location was built in 2011, and opened at the end of 2011 (December 8, 2011). It replaced the Second Street location (the address was technically 190 Bungalow Court), which closed on December 7, 2011. The Second Street location was demolished after the State of California took possession on January 1, 2012. The State of California acquired the parcel through eminent domain for the Interstate 215 widening project. See Resolution CDC/2011-50 of the Community Development Commission of the City of San Bernardino.
The Bungalow Court location was there as long as I can remember, and consisted of a double drive through and no inside eating area. The location in south San Bernardino,was moved slightly to the north to 1065 E. Harriman Place during the creation of the HUB Project. There was an Owner Participation Agreement between In-N-Out and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Bernardino, acknowledged by Resolution 2001-317, approved by Mayor Valles on October 3, 2001. The old In-N-Out in North Loma Linda was also a double drive through. According to a letter dated January 23, 1997 from then-attorney (and now Judge) Cynthia Ludvigsen, the old In-N-Out was on the northwest corner of Rosewood Drive and Tippecanoe. The Highland store (28009 Greenspot Road, Highland, CA 92346) opened in 2012.
So, when did In-N-Out Burger open in San Bernardino? The area near Central City Mall was redeveloped in the 1970s. The Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Bernardino put out a photo survey of the downtown area before redevelopment, and if I recall correctly, the area on 2nd Street had houses in the early 1970s.
The In-N-Out website’s history section gives clues, but no answers. Obviously, the first one opened in 1948 in Baldwin Park, the same year that McDonald’s converted to a quick serve restaurant from a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino. By 1958, there were five locations in the San Gabriel Valley. By 1973, In-N-Out had 13 locations, all in Los Angeles County, and all with two drive through lanes and no inside eating. In 1979, the first In-N-Out with a dining room opened in Ontario as restaurant number 21. The website adds that only 13 more no dining room locations were built after that. By 1988, In-N-Out had 50 stores in total, and in each of the core Southern California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.I have In-N-Out Santa glasses from 1982 that I know we bought from the 190 Bungalow Court location, so that probably means that the original downtown San Bernardino In-N-Out Burger was built between 1973 and 1982. [Update: October 17, 2012. I couldn’t stand it any longer. According to In-N-Out’s customer service line, the store was opened on February 11, 1982].
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Copyright 2012 Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
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About Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
Michael Reiter, Municipal Attorney with Milligan, Attorney, Beswick, Levine & Knox LLP Blog 