The real reason In-N-Out popped up in Ireland.
Words: Maggie Fagan
Hero Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
We’re going through a real surge of American fast food chains taking advantage of our lil tax haven wonderland, muscling their way in here with their big corp money. It almost seems every week there’s a new rando opening. Who the hell is Dave, and why the hell is his chicken so hot?
And sure, we might tentatively welcome Anthony Bourdain’s favourite fast food joint, but folks, NYC doesn’t even have an In-N-Out. So why the hell did they come here for a pop-up? In the Harbourmaster of all places? This is not the first time these burger boys have popped up on our shores, they’ve been here both in 2015 and 2021, and I, for my sins, did not attend the 2026 edition. I had better things to be doing than wait around for a (mid) burger for two hours in hailstones. But I did trawl through all the footage and interviews…
What struck me first was the fact they were serving crisps instead of chips. How do they have the capacity to cook burgers, but not fry chips? In an interview with Luis Hernandez, In-N-Out’s “Manager of Special Foreign Events,” local beef is used for the patties, but “it’s hard to ship our potatoes”, which is why they opted for crisps. Seems strange if they’re using Irish beef that they don’t use Irish potatoes. After all, they are in the land most famous for the humble spud.
If you look at the signage around the pub, it appears to be all printed on thin, cheap paper. And the kicker? They have no plans to open up in the East Coast of the U.S., never mind Ireland. So what’s the point of these pop-ups? For promotion? Surely not, it’s one of the most popular fast food joints in the States. It’s almost a rite of passage to hit up the airport branch when flying in or out of LAX. At least that’s what Anthony Bourdain would do.
After a bit of digging, it appears that In-N-Out Burger aggressively protects its international trademarks to stave off copycats. A “CaliBurger” chain opened up in China in 2011 that had near identical branding, and menu items like “Double-Double” and “Animal Style”, as well as a registered trademark for “IN-N-OUT BURGER” complete with the palm tree logo. They got away with this because In-N-Out hadn’t locked down their trademarks in China, leaving them essentially shut out of their own identity.
To get around this, In-N-Out have started hosting one-day pop-ups around the world, to prevent competitors from using similar branding and maintain their international trademark. Hence why they run pop-ups in cities all over the world like London, Berlin, Auckland, Manila, Dubai, Seoul, the list goes on…
By showing they’ve been active in these countries, they can go full legal mode on anyone getting a bit too comfortable with the whole red-and-yellow, In-N-Out-adjacent branding. It’s all smoke and mirrors. If they don’t have any immediate plans to even expand in the States, there’s no way in hell they’re even thinking about setting up shop here. But who needs ‘em? We have plenty of class burgers of our own. Like In N Out in Middleton, Co. Cork. Yup the Rebel County.
