In-N-Out Opening in Colorado Plagued by 14-Hour Wait Time, Parking Lot Brawl

In-N-Out Burger opened a location in Aurora, Colorado, this week, and the demand became so hectic that the police were called in to manage the situation. According to a report by local Fox News affiliate KDVR, customers waited as long as 14 hours in line for the fast-food novelty, and tensions were high. Before the day was out, police had to break up a fistfight.

The Aurora Police Department did its best to warn customers that they would be waiting at least 12 hours at In-N-Out on Friday if they tried to stop by. In the afternoon, the official APD Twitter account even began advising people not to come since the restaurant would almost certainly be closed by the time they made it to the window. In-N-Out is open from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. local time at all locations, with an extra half hour on Friday and Saturday nights. Typically, In-N-Out locations are reserved for the West Coast, but this was the first of several planned to open in the Denver, Colorado area.

FINAL UPDATE: The last car that will be served tonight has been "marked" and is estimated they will be served around 2:00 a.m. We anticipate continued traffic impacts in the coming days so please use alternate routes, maybe you'll find another great local eatery to support😃

— Aurora Police Dept 🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) November 20, 2020

The new restaurant is near East Alameda Avenue and Interstate 225, at the Tow Center at Aurora mall. Shortly after it opened, police were needed to help direct the deluge of traffic hitting the scene. They advised customers that this kind of traffic jam was not for the faint of heart and even asked them to consider supporting a local restaurant and trying In-N-Out later.

"Maybe support another local eatery today and In-n-Out another day if traffic is too hectic for you," one tweet read. Another said: "Many other local eateries do not have a wait hint hint."

Customers did not all sit idly in the hours-long drive-thru line at In-N-Out, either. A viral video shows at least two men fighting between cars on the scene, coming dangerously close to hitting their heads on the concrete curb. As two others approached, a fifth person swooped in from the side to grab one of the combatants, effectively ending the confrontation. It is not clear if any legal action was taken over the fight.

Fight breaks out at the In N Out grand opening in Colorado, where sources say the line was 14 HOURS long😳 pic.twitter.com/EMiFW4TJ4a

— 44vato (@44vatoX) November 21, 2020

Another In-N-Out opened in Colorado Springs on Friday, and they are the first of two coming to the state. More are opening soon in Lone Tree, Lakewood and Thornton. The fast-food chain is famous in the Los Angeles area but is a novelty in most of the country. Soon, Colorado will have nine locations across the state.