In or out? In-N-Out says recent report on Albuquerque location timeline is ‘inaccurate’

It wouldn’t be April Fools’ Day without an annual Facebook prank post falsely announcing that In-N-Out Burger has started construction in New Mexico.

While In-N-Out does have plans to come to the state, fans of the popular regional fast food chain still have a few more years to wait before pulling up with a burger order, as the chain’s plans to arrive in the Duke City by 2027 remain.

Misinformation regarding In-N-Out’s future in New Mexico swirls on social media every April Fools’ Day, but this year, the false information started earlier.

In a March 28 Instagram post, seemingly not associated with April Fools’ Day, a popular Albuquerque Instagram account called @thehotspot_.abq announced that Albuquerque’s first In-N-Out would “break ground before July.”

The account user called the announcement “insider info” and claimed that In-N-Out aims to open in New Mexico by Christmas of 2026.

The Journal reached out to In-N-Out to see if there was any veracity to the claims.

“Unfortunately, the construction and opening day timeline information for our first restaurants in New Mexico is inaccurate,” said Mike Abbate, In-N-Out’s vice president of store development, in an email to the Journal on Friday.

“Our preliminary development plans are underway for our Albuquerque locations, and our goal is to open in 2027,” Abbate added. “However, it is still too early to be able to forecast opening dates, or for that matter, which location(s) will open first.”

The Instagram post ignited both exuberant rejoicing and debate over the best local burger — as did an April 1, or April Fools’ Day, Facebook prank post falsely announcing In-N-Out started construction in Rio Rancho, with nine more coming across the state.

Commenters on each post questioned if the burger chain was even coming to New Mexico anymore, while others said they thought the chain was opening in 2027.

Here are the facts:

In-N-Out announced in 2023 that it is expanding to New Mexico and will open in

• the Albuquerque area by 2027, “with future expansion to other cities in the years beyond,” according to a November 2023 news release from the burger chain.
• The University of New Mexico

• that In-N-Out began the process of purchasing roughly two acres of land from UNM for $2 million, and will build a location near the fire station on Gibson and Interstate 25 in the South Campus Tax Increment Development District — the only currently known planned location.

The most recent development of the famed burgers coming to New Mexico came from UNM’s director of real estate, Tom Neale, who shared last month that the transaction between UNM and In-N-Out for the site on Gibson is expected to close in May.

Abbate said In-N-Out is “very much looking forward to opening stores in the beautiful state of New Mexico, and we appreciate our customers who have shared their anticipation with us as well.”