Photo by Ameya Kirwadhar on Unsplash
In-N-Out Burger Launches Surprise Pop-Up Shop in Australia. Could a Permanent Location Be Next?
June 13, 2025
When word spread that In-N-Out Burger would stage a one-day pop-up at Sydney’s Coogee Bay Hotel on June 11, lines began forming before dawn. By 9 a.m. opening, the queue snaked down Arden Street as die-hard fans—and curious first timers—waited hours to grab the cult chain’s Double-Double, Animal Style, and Protein Style burgers flown in and cooked by the brand’s own U.S. team. By mid-afternoon, the kitchen had sold out, leaving late-arriving hopefuls clutching nothing but selfies of the storefront and a lingering question: Is Australia finally on In-N-Out’s expansion map?
Why The Pop-Up Mattered More Than A Free Lunch
Pop-ups have become the brand’s R&D lab abroad, allowing the family-owned company to gauge demand without committing to the fresh-food supply chain that defines its model. Because every burger is never frozen and fries are cut on-site, opening overseas means building cold-chain infrastructure from scratch—an expensive hedge if the buzz fades. Yet each Australian cameo has only amplified local appetite: Previous pop-ups in Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, and Brisbane drew similar sell-outs and social media frenzies, signaling a market hungry for more than one-day exclusives.
A Menu That Traveled 12,000 Kilometers—And Stayed True To Form
To reassure purists, In-N-Out Burger dispatched seasoned associates from California, replicating the exact burger build that West Coast loyalists know by heart, according to News.com.au. The Double-Double arrived with two fresh-ground patties, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, onions, and that tangy-sweet signature spread. Animal Style—usually part of the chain’s unofficial “secret menu”—featured grilled onions, mustard-seared beef, extra cheese, pickles, and an extra ladle of sauce, while the Protein Style option swapped buns for crisp lettuce wraps. By adhering to its strict freshness doctrine, the pop-up demonstrated that the same supply-chain discipline that powers 430-plus U.S. units can be replicated—even temporarily—half a world away.
What Pop-Ups Tell Us About Permanent Stores
For markets like Australia—where American chains from Five Guys to Shake Shack are already fixtures—pop-ups serve two strategic purposes:
- Demand Validation
Consistent sell-outs prove pricing power and brand heat in a competitive premium-burger segment. - Operational Stress Test
Each event forces the company to solve for ingredient sourcing, staff training, and local regulations—on a small scale—before investing in brick-and-mortar leases. - Real-Estate Recon
Crowd patterns offer data on which suburbs have the right parking, foot traffic, and delivery-fleet access.
The Sydney In-N-Out Burger event ticks all three boxes. Coogee—an affluent, beach-adjacent neighborhood—mirrors the coastal vibe of In-N-Out’s Southern California origin story, hinting at the kind of lifestyle positioning the brand might pursue Down Under.
What Tennessee Can Teach Australia About In-N-Out Burger’s Long Game
If you want a blueprint for how pop-up buzz can evolve into multi-unit buildouts, look 14,500 kilometers east to Middle Tennessee. After years of speculation, In-N-Out Burger secured municipal approvals this month for its first restaurant at RiverGate Mall in Goodlettsville, just north of Nashville, complete with $300,000 in infrastructure commitments for sewer modification.
That green light follows the 2023 announcement of a $126 million, 100,000-square-foot eastern headquarters now rising in Franklin. The facility will supply up to 35 restaurants statewide when it opens in 2026, creating an estimated 3,500 jobs. Expansion was personal for President Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, who told local business leaders that a “God thing” nudged her family to the Volunteer State.
Could Sydney—or Melbourne—Be The Next Franklin?
Several factors favor Australia as the brand’s first full-service venture outside North America:
- Robust Supply Chain for Fresh Produce
Australia’s year-round agriculture could meet the chain’s “never frozen” mandate without the cross-country trucking challenges faced in the U.S. - High GDP Per Capita + Fast-Casual Affinity
Australian consumers routinely pay AU $15–20 for gourmet burgers, pricing that aligns with the Double-Double’s premium perception. - Tourism & Cultural Fit
With Americans comprising one of Australia’s top inbound visitor groups, brand recognition is already high.
Still, key hurdles remain. Importing proprietary ingredients (such as the secret sauce base) requires regulatory approvals, and establishing regional meat-processing facilities entails capital outlays that only make sense if multiple stores are planned. Given that Tennessee’s headquarters preceded its first opening by three years, Aussies may need patience.
The In-N-Out Burger Branding Payoff—Even If A Store Never Opens
Whether a permanent location materializes or not, the Sydney pop-up generated outsized earned media, saturating TikTok, Instagram Reels, and national broadcast news with user-generated burger-cam videos. In a paid-advertising world, the ROI on that level of nostalgia-fueled publicity is hard to beat. A single day’s service placed In-N-Out Burger atop local food-news agendas and reminded expatriate Californians why the chain still enjoys near-mythic status.
Keep Your Eyes On The Next ‘Secret Menu’ In-N-Out Burger Drop
In-N-Out Burger has shown its hand: Pop-ups are more than fleeting fan service—they’re reconnaissance missions. With Tennessee proving the company can leave its Western comfort zone and still keep operations on-brand, Australia looks increasingly viable, provided leadership is willing to replicate the headquarters-first model that de-risked its U.S. eastward leap.
For now, Australian fans must settle for memories of Animal Style bliss and hope the next Instagram announcement reads “Now hiring: Sydney.” If that notice appears, it will signal that In-N-Out Burger has found a way to translate its obsession with freshness—and its fiercely guarded brand DNA—to the Pacific Rim.
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