Burger Bummer: In-N-Out May Not Be Coming After All

An In-N-Out representative indicated Thursday that the company is no longer pursuing a deal to locate a restaurant in a portion of the Home Depot parking lot on Mountain Avenue.

City Manager Scott Ochoa with Home Depot after the two sides nearly walked away from a deal earlier this year.

But Carl Van Fleet, the company's vice president for planning and development, said in an email Thursday that In-N-Out has abandoned plans for that location for the time being.

"Unfortunately, we did have a few challenges come up with that location and we’re not moving forward on it at this time," Van Fleet wrote. "We still absolutely want to be in Monrovia but, right now, I really can’t speculate as to the timing."

The company had been in talks about acquiring part of Home Depot's parking lot on Mountain and Evergreen Avenues to set up shop, but the two sides could not agree on a price, according to Ochoa.

In-N-Out wanted to cut its costs after realizing how expensive installing underground utilities would be, while Home Depot was trying to get the highest possible price for its land, Ochoa said.

The restaurant on 3,400 square feet of space and the company had worked out a parking and traffic plan that was approved by the city's planning commission.

Monrovia has been courting the popular burger chain for decades, Ochoa said. A restaurant could have been up and running by January 2012 if In-N-Out and Home Depot reached a deal by this summer, he said.

Van Fleet did not rule out opening a restaurant in Monrovia and said the company was in the process of identifying alternative locations.

"The area remains very attractive to us and we will continue to pursue alternative sites," Van Fleet wrote.