In-N-Out Brings Jobs To Fort Worth, Along With Burgers
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Red and white clad restaurant workers scrambled in a choreographed routine of food-making efficiency as a never ending stream of customers approached the checkered tile counter to place orders for Fort Worth's first In-N-Out burgers.
"Hi! How are you?" the smiling server asked as another customer approached to place an order.
For many patrons, this was breakfast.
The restaurant was packed from the moment it opened its doors at 8:30 in the morning.
"I knew it'd be crowded," said Taran Gaston, who'd traveled to Fort Worth from Palestine, Texas for his sister's doctor appointment so he could make the grand opening after. "It was worth it. Worth the wait. Best burgers I've had in fast food!"
Fort Worth and other cities are finding the restaurant openings are a recipe for an economic spike.
Many of the restaurant workers buzzing around during the grand opening are the top employees from out of state restaurants. The company brought in nearly two-hundred of them for the store openings in Fort Worth and Dallas this week to train new hires. They'll stay for up to two months.
And then there are the full time jobs.
"So far, we've added close to 300 jobs--some part time, some full time," said Carl Van Fleet, an In-N-Out spokesman. "Our pay starts at $10 an hour so we pay our associates well, we're proud of that. We've also got several more restaurants under construction so we've created some construction jobs. And we also, as we open those restaurants each of them will hire 50, 55, 60 new associates as well."
In-N-Out Burger will eventually have nine stores in the area. They've leased space to manufacture and distribute hamburger patties in Dallas. But they'll soon add more jobs as the company builds a permanent center to stay in Texas for the long haul.
"We're going to build a nice, big patty production/distribution facility to meet our needs in North Texas for a long time -- all of Texas hopefully," Van Fleet said.
