Is In-N-Out Burger Coming To The Jersey Shore? Sorry N.J.

Fans of In-N-Out Burger have been salivating on social media over a report that the West Coast chain is expanding eastward.

"NO WAY!" one woman wrote in a post on Facebook. "Looked forward to the West Coast trips for the good eats," another poster wrote.

"If this In-N-Out Burger comes to the Jersey Shore, I'm there all summer," a Twitter user said.

Unfortunately for hungry fans who've been hoping to see the franchise ... it's not coming East any time soon, the company confirmed Friday morning.

The report in The Odyssey, which had been shared by a number of people on social media, says the company was opening in Seaside Heights this summer.

However, the company, which has more than 300 franchises in California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Arizona, just recently opened a restaurant in Seaside, California, not far from Monterey Beach. The new restaurant opened on the site of an old auto wrecking yard, not far from two major hotel chains, including an Embassy Suites.

That site description is what made readers realize the Seaside Heights report was in error: there currently is no Embassy Suites in Seaside Heights.

"OK, now I'm depressed," one poster said on Facebook after learning of the confusion.

Will the company ever cross the Mississippi? Not any time soon, it appears.

"Slow and controlled growth has always been part of our strategy here at In-N-Out Burger," Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development, said via email Friday afternoon. "We know that the East Coast presents many exciting opportunities but our slow growth plans will keep us focused on just those six states for at least the next few years."

"You specifically mentioned Seaside Heights and it does sound like that is, in fact, a rumor that may indeed be linked to our recent opening in Seaside, Calif.," he said.

A September 2015 report on SFGate.com says the 65-year-old privately owned company makes its burgers fresh and adheres to a strict policy on that, meaning all of its must be within 300 miles of the company's distribution facilities.

"At In-N-Out Burger, we make all of our hamburger patties ourselves and deliver them fresh to all of our restaurants with our own delivery vehicles," Van Fleet said in that report. "Nothing is ever frozen."

Not everyone is disappointed.

"They're all over Texas. And I don't get the hype. They're not that good. IMHO," a Facebook poster wrote.

(Patch file photo, courtesy our California staff)