In-N-Out Finally Secures First Houston Location — Get Ready for a Fast Food Burger Showdown

Years of waiting for California-based burger sensation In-N-Out have finally come to an end for Houstonians. Today, it was revealed that the Whataburger of the West Coast closed on a plot of land at 8373 Westheimer Road in May.

The news comes long after commercial real estate company CRBE’s vice president Jazz Hamilton divulged In-N-Out’s plans to purchase multiple Houston sites during a company press luncheon in February.

“This time, they’re doing it,” Hamilton told the luncheon crowd. “You’ll see them closing (on sites) quietly, and then all of a sudden, they’ll start building all at once.”

It seems Hamilton was spot on regarding the quiet real estate closings. The high-profile fast food chain, which has kept the Houston rumor mill swirling for years, managed to keep news of its first Houston purchase under wraps for nearly two months despite intense scrutiny.

Stationed at the corner of Westheimer and Voss Road, the prospective construction schedule for the future In-N-Out outpost has yet to be revealed, but its opening will mark the brand’s first Houston location.

In fact, In-N-Out has opened in every major Texas market — Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio — except Houston since more than five years ago when it debuted its first Lone Star state locations in the DFW area.

Even with news of In-N-Out’s Houston move, you have to wonder how the company’s Bayou City snub will affect its eventual debut.

Houston definitely isn’t suffering from a shortage of burger eateries. In the past six months alone, another global burger chain, Shake Shack, made a Houston entrance with its first location at The Galleria, a second outpost in Minute Maid Park, and a third location planned for Rice Village.

Not to mention Austin-based burger hub Hopdoddy Burger Bar, which launched its first Houston location last year in River Oaks District and has since opened second and third locations in Rice Village and Vintage Park.

Then there’s the legion of fiercely loyal Whatabuger devotees who would rather claw their eyes out than surrender to the pull of In-N-Out’s signature double-double burgers and animal-style fries.

Let the battle for Houston’s best fast-food burger commence!