I would not wait in line for hours plural for ANY food. Period. Not even a Michelin starred restaurant, let alone fast food.
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Did you post in this thread because you believe this is indicative of too many In N Outs or too many burger joints?
My area of SoCal has five In-N-Outs within a short driving distance, and 2 in my local town. This makes In-N-Out one of the most popular fast food chains in the area, unless you count Starbucks as fast food. There are ~20 Starbucks in a short driving distance. My nearest shopping area that is <0.25 miles has 2 different Starbucks in the same relatively small shopping complex.
In contrast, there are 0 Burger Kings. There used to be some when I originally moved here, but all have since closed. The same thing happened with KFC and most other fast food chains that have a low cost type reputation. In this environment where most fast food chains struggle, In-N-Out thrives and is almost always busy with long lines, including during hours that are not traditionally big for fast food. For example, In-N-Out seems to be a popular place to hang out on Friday night. Habit Burger is a similar exception and also thrives with a similar number of locations to In-N-Out that are usually busy at similar hours, but no where near as long lines as In-N-Out.
Years ago the long lines at In-N-Out seemed reasonably consistent with the pricing â high sales volume is expected for an abnormally low price on a high quality product⊠high volume at what I presume is low margin. However, prices at my nearest In-N-Out have nearly doubled over past 5 years, so the lower price than alternatives isnât as notable. In-N-Out also has a horrible online presence â no significant app; no sales/flyers/ads (in my area); not available for online delivery with Uber Eats, Door Dash, Instacart; ⊠It seems to be more of a cult following than sales based on traditional economics and marketing.
Have you been to other fast food places lately? Taco Bell used to be about $8 for a âmeal dealâ but last time I went it was $13! Iâm not talking a bag full of food, but a drink and 2 items (taco and burrito?) Subway is over $10 of a 6" and drink. And in Denveer there will be another $1 in tax.
I just noticed the McDâs meal deal (double cheese) went to $6 from $5.
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One difference is In-N-Out doesnât offer discounts from sticker price, and most of the others have steep discounts from sticker price. This allows typical fast food restaurants to charge high sticker prices for the customers willing to pay high sticker prices, and reduce prices for the customers that would be unwilling to purchase unless prices are reduced.
For example, you mentioned Subway. Subway has coupon codes that can be used online or in app every month, and those coupons codes always include a foot long for $6.99. This monthâs codes include FL699 for $6.99 and FORTY for 40% off. You can stack those with an additional 20% off for paying with a gift card, reducing the price to $6.99 * (1 - 20%) = $5.59. Several years ago, the coupon price was $5.99, so $6.99 is a 17% increase⊠roughly matching normal inflation over this period. Online or in app orders also allow you to schedule the time that your order will be ready. You can pop in at that time and pick up the order from the online order tray spending a matter of seconds in the store, without waiting in a long line. This benefit is valuable to me.
Subway coupon codes are just the tip of the iceburg in terms of available discounts at fast food locations other than In-N-Out. For example, my usual order at Carlâs Jr is a hand-breaded swiss bacon chicken sandwich on sourdough for 50 cents.
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My husband likes an egg McMuffin for breakfast. We go to McDonaldâs, sit by the lake and do our daily puzzles.
Sue us, thatâs our routine!
We first started this during the pandemic as my husband was working from home and needed a change of scenery.
We always order from the app.
First it was a free sandwich with another purchase. Then the sandwich was $1, for a while all soda was also a $1. Then the sandwich was $2.
Now itâs buy one sandwich, get another for a $1.
Went from $5 for breakfast to now over $10.
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I have a soft spot for Egg McMuffins! 
And Big Macs - when Iâm in the mood for them. Reminds of the days when kids were big fans of Happy Meals!
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This is adorable in the very best way. 
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@deb922 my dad and his wife went to McDonalds every single night just for a cup of coffee. There was some senior deal. They just went, and had a leisurely cup and chatted and then went home. The McDonalds was right at the end of their street.
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Bars! Town smaller than 5000 but we have 5 bars with another one opening. They all serve about the same food. We drive 30- 45 minutes to get better food.
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Liquor stores. Our town is about 6000 people and we have three liquor stores.
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I can tell you people donât live in Wisconsin! My town (about 25k at the time) probably had 200 bars and 20-30 liquor stores (and most bars sold liquor to take out too). And we had a college so plenty of kids looking for liquor! You could go directly to the source, the brewery, and buy a 1/2 barrel, but you had to be strong enough to catch it as it rolled down a shoot from the 2nd floor and you had to own a tapper, which many many of us did. They sold it in bottles and cans, but not after the little shop closed. Only barrels at night.
When I lived in California, every grocery store, discount store, drug store and gas station sold beer, wine, and liquor. And liquor stores sold it too
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@twoinanddone -they clearly donât live in Northern Illinois, either! IYKYK
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Storage Units! What on earth is everyone storing??? LOL. And nail salons.
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LOL, at one time we had CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreenâs on three corners of the same intersection. RA is gone.
My friend just rented (and packed full) two 20x10 units with all her household belongings. Her plan is to live in Mexico for 1-2 years and then move to michigan. I bet she doesnât use half of what is in these units, which I think cost $300/mo. EACH!
My friendâs SIL moved to California after her husband died and put all her household stuff into storage - for about 20 years. Then she moved it into a shed that wasnât weatherized between her brotherâs (and my friend) house and her motherâs house. Friend lives in what was his grandmotherâs house and this was the grandfatherâs workshop in the 50âs and 60âs. Little by little everything was ruined by squirrels and raccoons and rain and feral cats.
But she still wants to know where âherâ stuff is. I think sheâs 78 years old. Wonder when sheâs going to unpack it?
Storage units in my neck of the woods are placeholders for future real estate development. Easy peasy! People store their crap and pay for the landownerâs expenses. Thirty-forty years down the road, a developer buys the place, gets rid of the storage renters, and builds an apartment complex or an office building. The land owner walks away with million$.
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Storage units make a lot of money. If they are not full, then they run special deals to fill the space⊠and later raise the rates. Often they build on property outside of town, with the gamble that eventually the property will appreciate as the town grows.
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