There has been quite a bit of turmoil this past week in Rancho Mirage as residents have been showing up in droves to city meetings and writing scathing letters to the newspaper in an effort to stop a planned In-N-Out Burger that would be built on Highway 111. Residents have proclaimed the burger joint would bring crime and noise to the area. And while residents may like that the area is currently a total snoozer, if the city doesn’t do something quick, Rancho Mirage may just end up a ghost town.
Currently, the Highway 111 section of Rancho Mirage is comprised mostly of a bunch of consignment stores, a few auto dealers, a “restaurant row” catering mostly to the elders, and the River at Rancho Mirage – a complex where anchor restaurants like Yard House and Cheesecake Factory appear to be doing okay, but with the rest of the center seeing closing after closing after closing. The center’s movie theater, which was once the nicest theater in the valley, has seen other theaters around the desert make upgrades and catch up and, well, it’s not like people are going to the movies like they used to.
So what’s a city to do? Well, welcoming an In-N-Out Burger and its legions of fans to the area might be a good start in bringing people who spend money to the area. Other cities like Palm Springs and Cathedral City have been trying to lure In-N-Out for years – and, if they were smart, they would be reminding the In-N-Out bosses about now how much easier it would surely be to build in their cities than Rancho Mirage.
And sure, it’s easy just to focus on enticing people to come to Rancho Mirage and spend money, but let us not forget, In-N-Out Burger is one of the few fast food joints out there that will actually bring some pretty good paying jobs with it.
Clearly, the city of Rancho Mirage realizes that they need an In-N-Out Burger and, should the vocal opponents succeed in pushing the burger chain away, it will become even harder for the area to land any future businesses that might inject some much needed life in the area and attract anyone under the age of 70 to the city.
Bottom line: Rancho Mirage needs an In-N-Out Burger much more than In-N-Out Burger needs Rancho Mirage.
My hunch is the opponents are a vocal minority and city council understands this. This “airing of grievances” is cosmetic – only to make them feel included. Hope I’m right; completely agree with this article.
I live in Rancho Mirage near the River.I think it would be great to have a In and Out.Oh and I’m in my sixties.So with that being said.I feel like someone has a problem with Rancho Mirage and the River.
“I live in Rancho Mirage near the River.I think it would be great to have a In and Out.Oh and I’m in my sixties.So with that being said.I feel like someone has a problem with Rancho Mirage and the River.”
The River is struggling, “Restaurant Row” has 3 busy restaurants, and consignment stores are a fair indicator of lower rents. I feel the article was an honest assessment of the state of civic fiscal health in RM.
I don’t know about another burger place? Something different like a Chick-fil-A would be better.
Rancho Mirage should be so lucky. As a consultant to City / Agencies, I personally took the city manager of Cathedral City and Mountain View to an In & Out Burger to experience it first hand in an effort to recruit In & Out to his City. Admittedly, he said as an older person, ” he had no idea of the cultural aspects of an In & Out” and what a Iconic establishment it is. Bruce was astute and a sophisticated City Manager. ( rip ) He understood the draw immediately. While we were there he initially scoffed at the menu having only one item (a burger ). I ordered the #3 for him with a chocolate Shake. He couldn’t believe it..!!! It was fresh. He then started spewing out Economic Development and Governmental language I never heard of… such as all the culture and generational aspects of having such a business in his city, There were older retirees, young softball teams, construction workers, families, business men and women and people of all background and income levels….. all there, at the same time to enjoy one single item, a burger. Bruce said, the addition of an In and Out Burger in his city, would be nothing but a miracle..!!
What’s wrong with you Rancho Mirage residents?!?! In-And- Out is not McDonald’s.
Oh, and by the way… and since I took the City Manager to ” In & Out Burgers, years ago, today there are TWO In & Out burgers located in the city of millionaires and billionaires, City of Mountain View….. where Google Headquarters are located. Let this sink in.
In-n-Out I think would be for Rancho Mirage. The problem I see is you have many year round senior residents & they don’t adjust well to changes in “their” community. On another note, the Cheese Cake Factory has closed as many other restaurants. Therefore, having a popular franchise as In-n-Out would help the revenue needed for the Rancho Mirage community.
The Cheesecake Factory is still open – our daughter and son-in-law had dinner there Monday night.
Also – I agree that an In-N-Out Burger would be an excellent addition to this area bringing more families, couples and even out-of-tow visitors to the stores that are clearly hurting. Even with the closures, there are still a lot of great shopping options, but nothing is currently drawing the people to the proposed center where this will be built. With a Starbucks and a Hobby Lobby in the same vicinity and The River nearby, this could be the key that brings business back to Rancho Mirage.
If Rancho Mirage won’t take it N. Palm Springs will.
The City of Rancho Mirage has never cared about the residents on Magnesia Falls, trust me…..I’ve lived on Magnesia Falls since 1987 and went thru the same situation when overnight during the summer, we found out through word of mouth that they were going to cul-de-sac Barbara Dr., Rancho Rd., and Desert Dr. leaving Joshua Rd. and Magnesia Falls dealing with the traffic from the neighborhood as well as Palm Desert using both Joshua and Magnesia Falls Rds. as main arteries, also, affecting the value of our homes on these streets and here we go again, dumping on Magnesia Falls and Joshua Roads residents. THE CITY JUST DOES NOT CARE! When we attended the meeting, the City Manager said and I quote: we are not aware of any traffic issues on Magnesia Falls, then why are there speed bumps and a double yellow traffic lines already on our street even before in-n-out comes to our city. Once again, the City shows that Magnesia Falls and Joshua Rd. residents DO NOT MATTER!!