In-N-Out In Montana? Why It Might Not Be A Great Idea.

My wife and recently took a road trip to Boise, ID for our friend's wedding and while we were there, we decided to hit up In-N-Out Burger. In case you didn't know, it's a pretty popular place.

First, I have no "secret intel" that In-N-Out is coming to Montana anytime soon.

However, as more folks from the West Coast move to Montana, there has been a movement among many, including locals for In-N-Out to become part of the food scene here in The Last Best Place. As a fan of the establishment, I count myself among that group, however, I might be wavering just a bit, especially after my recent visit.

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Don't get me wrong, the food was great, the service was fantastic, the prices are reasonable and I love a double-double, but I'm just not sure Montanans are ready for what In-N-Out brings to the table.

The lines were incredibly long.  We're talking about cars backed up for a couple of blocks. Now granted, In-N-Out is relatively new to the Idaho scene, but I've been to different In-N-Out locations in Texas, Arizona, Utah, and now Idaho and there's always a wait.

We decided to dine in because we were meeting friends, and that seemed to be our best bet. The place was packed, but we did get a table and the restaurant had lots of staff on hand, so our wait wasn't too long, but that drive-thru was brutal.

That's the norm as there were all kinds of traffic cones and signs set up to help people navigate through the maze that is the drive-thru lane. They even had employees out with menus taking orders to help the process, which is a great idea.

Do I think that In-N-Out would be popular here in Montana? I do. I also know that many restaurants across the state have staffing issues which could be a huge factor, especially when you have a drive-thru line 3 blocks long.

One of the keys to In-N-Out's success is that they're affordable, but we also know that many places in Montana have to pay more than most states to hire employees due to the cost of living. How would that affect the prices? Would it make financial sense to expand to Montana?

Then the next question is where would they go? Billings? Bozeman? Missoula?

All three locations make sense. Billings and Missoula due to their population and Bozeman because, well, everyone seems to go to Bozeman, especially during tourist season. Speaking of tourists...throw in the fact that we get millions of tourists throughout the state each year and add them to the mix, well, you might have to wait a bit for your double-double and animal-style fries.

Plus, Montana has some great burger locations. Check out some of the best places to grab a burger in Bozeman below.