In-N-Out Burger pop-up store attracts record crowd

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 00:15

Companies

In-N-Out Burger pop-up store attracts record crowd

Posted : 2023-06-01 08:33

Updated : 2023-06-02 09:32

People wait in line to try In-N-Out Burgers at its one-day-only pop-up store in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

By Kim Jae-heun

In-N-Out Burger, a major U.S. hamburger franchise based in California, opened a pop-up store in southern Seoul, Wednesday, for the first time since 2019, drawing a long line of people eager to taste the American burger, according to industry officials. The store sold burgers for only four hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the line was formed hours before its doors opened.

"I waited two and half hours from 10:30 a.m. to try In-N-Out Burger. The burger tastes exactly the same as one I had in the United States. It was worth it," a 30-year-old man surnamed Cheong said.

A visitor takes a photo of In-N-Out's Double-Double burger at its one-day pop-up event held in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis

In-N-Out Burger sold only 500 burgers on the day, including its iconic Double-Double, Animal Style and Protein Style burgers.

As the fast food restaurant chain, which is known for using only fresh ingredients, replaced fries with potato chips and brought its patties directly from the United States.

"We held a pop-up store in Seoul as part of our global tour to promote In-N-Out Burger," Lewis Hernandez, a manager from In-N-Out Burger's headquarters in Irvine, California, told a local press outlet. "We are reviewing opening restaurants in Seoul as all pop-up store events have been successful here, but there is no concrete plan."

In-N-Out Burger held previous pop-up events three times in Seoul in 2012, 2015 and 2019.

The company's pop-up stores are directly organized by the headquarters and the possibility of its entering the Korean market has been raised every time they were opened here.

However, an industry official said the purpose of the pop-up event can be seen as the franchise's effort to protect its trademark rights.

"In-N-Out Burger is coming back to Korea every three years because if it is not used within the period, the trademark rights can expire," a local retail firm official said. "I am not sure if it will open a restaurant in Korea but considering that it has a trademark here, the possibility is open."

In-N-Out Burger registered its trademark in Korea in 2012.

jhkim@koreatimes.co.kr