Orderly start for In-N-Out

But it's not every day a famous burger chain opens up close to home — and without its long lines, to boot — so they were willing to make an exception.

"We weren't going to come yet because we thought it was going to be so busy," Bob Jenkins said of In-N-Out Burger, which made its long-awaited Northwest Side debut Thursday. "We were (across the street) at Starbucks and thought, 'What the heck, let's have an early lunch.'"

The Jenkinses settled down for a couple of cheeseburgers a little after 9:30 a.m., about an hour before the scheduled opening of the restaurant, at 8180 N. Cortaro Road in Marana.

"Our doors say 10:30, but we open when we're ready," said Ray Gonzalez, division manager for Arizona's 15 stores. "We always try to do a soft opening."

An hour after the doors were open, fewer than 10 cars were in line for the drive-through window, while walk-in customers were able to stroll right inside and order at one of the restaurant's three cash registers.

"I came only because there wasn't a line," said Lori Ruiz, 10 minutes into what ended up being about a 12-minute wait in the drive-through around 10:30 a.m. "It's probably because it's so early."

It was a far cry from the overwhelming traffic seen at Tucson's first In-N-Out, which opened April 24 at El Con Mall with upward of 100 vehicles in the drive-through and a line of customers out the door.

Those numbers made El Con's location the most successful of what is now a 210-store operation, In-N-Out officials say.

The peak traffic during the day Thursday in Marana was about 30 cars and a walk-in line that came close to going out the door.

Despite the lower-than-expected numbers, In-N-Out staffers and Marana officials were prepared for a much larger number of customers.

The Marana Police Department brought out its Mobile Command Center, with officers helping In-N-Out employees steer vehicles along an intricate path through the parking lot to the drive-through via orange traffic cones and signs that were being painted on the fly in a van parked in front of the store.

The drive-through line was also moved along by In-N-Out employees who went car to car to take written orders and sent them via handheld computer to the kitchen.

"Let me get six Double-Doubles," customer Mark Tripp said as his miniature pinscher, Tea, leaned out the window to inspect the order taker. "I'm not going to eat all of them," Tripp said. "Four are for Tea."

As things got busier, customers such as Susan Robey passed the time waiting for their orders by observing the organized chaos going on behind the counter.

"I always like watching them work, seeing them in their funny little hats," said Robey, who hopes the Marana location doesn't get as busy as El Con's spot. "I never went there because it was always busy. I figured I could have driven to Phoenix faster than I could have gone there."

Lines or no lines, Mountain View High School seniors Matthew Cordova, Brady Paini and Brandon Phinizy were determined to have lunch there on opening day.

It was Paini's first-ever In-N-Out experience. After waiting a few minutes for his Double-Double burger, he dove into it, coming up for air only briefly to declare "it's good" before finishing the burger off in less than a minute.

Cordova used the visit to also order burgers to take home to family members, including 4-year-old sister Nalani.

"They're the only burgers she'll eat," Cordova said.

Did you know . . .

• In-N-Out's first location opened in 1948 in Baldwin Park, Calif. It took three years for a second location to open, and at the time of founder Harry Snyder's death in 1976 there were only 18 scattered throughout central and southern California.

• The Marana location is the company's 210th, with five more under construction.

• To help facilitate the opening of new locations, director of new stores Bob Meserve says he brings in about 20 "trainers" from other locations to help out the 50 or so employees hired for the new store. The trainers, mostly from California, are put up in hotels and apartments during their stay.

• In-N-Out Burger's popularity has spread to merchandise, with the company offering a full line of hats, shirts, jackets and other trinkets, such as golf balls (three for $8.95) or the oversized safety pin ($4.95) used by employees to hold their aprons in place. Merchandise can be purchased at www.in-n-out.com or at their company stores in Las Vegas and Baldwin Park.