Focus Live: The lines are long and expectations are high as Aucklanders queue for hours at In-N-Out pop-up restaurant.
Fast-food fans eager to get a taste of popular US burger chain In-N-Out began queuing for its pop-up in Kingsland at 7am.
At around 8.15 this morning a handful of people were seen waiting outside Portland Public House in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland, where In-N-Out announced it would hold a one-day only "promotional event" where it will serve up burgers from 11am to 2pm.
This is not the first time In-N-Out has held a pop-up store in New Zealand, it has done the same in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney.
In N Out Burger cheeseburger and chips outside the Kingsland pop up store at Portland Public house.
Not Jiggles related.... but pretty cool :) In n out burger pop up store. First burger off the line. I was technically 'guest 3' but the other 2 were tests.
One of the first customers to try out a meal at the Auckland In-N-Out, Mark Felton, told the Herald he had camped out at restaurant since 7.45am for the 11am opening.
However, he said the first six people were allowed in at 9.30am and the first in the queue was given a lanyard, a keyring and a special coin.
Being one of the six, Felton was able to purchase a Quad Burger, which he said was nice and that the cheese was "amazing".
He added that there was a one burger limit per purchase and branded T-shirts were available to buy for $6.
Felton also explained that a manager told him that they flew six staff from the US to flip burgers while locals took orders.
Retail analyst Chris Wilkinson believes the family-owned burger chain which operates more than 300 stores in America is testing the New Zealand market for a potential launch here.
The Herald understands In-N-Out burger has bought the domain name In-N-OutBurger.co.nz.
The company has not responded to the Herald's requests for comment.
Wilkinson said he anticipated In-N-Out would open a store, or stores, in New Zealand in the near future.
He believes New Zealand's mature and well-established fast food market made it attractive for In-N-Out's expansion outside the United States, and with the development of a number of shopping centres in Auckland, he believed it was only a matter of time until it set up shop permanently.
"In-N-Out would be the kind of brand that any city would love to have, but particularly it will be a focus for some of these big destination centres whether it be 277 Broadway or Sylvia Park, it's the type of brand that these centres would love to attract."
People queue at In-N-Out Burger in Kingsland. Photo / via video
In-N-Out Burger would attract shoppers to these shopping centres, he said, and would be considered big wins by the centre operators.
His pick is that In-N-Out would open its first New Zealand store within the Commercial Bay development in downtown Auckland, scheduled to open later this year.
"Commercial Bay will pull some rabbits out of a hat for their opening, so I wouldn't underestimate the fact that we might see something quite unique in their food offer. They are hungry for those aspirational brands that will bring a wider demographic to the centre."
In-N-Out Burger, which was established in California in 1948, is yet to be franchised outside the US.
The burger chain was founded by notoriously private billionaire chief executive Lynsi Snyder's grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder.
Snyder gradually received stakes in the business as part of a complicated trust plan made by her grandparents, and in 2017 she received the last slice of her fortune, on her 35th birthday.
She took over as president of the company in 2010, and is one of America's richest — and youngest — people.
Snyder and other In-N-Out staff rarely give media interviews.
