In-N-Out keeps delivery off the menu, but its fans are paying extra to get it anyway

For In-N-Out fans, the yellow arrow and red lettering paired with a palm tree backdrop can signal a familiar destination: relatively cheap burgers, fries, and most often than not, a line. From employees in white paper boat hats to burgers and fries tucked into open cardboard trays ready for a meal in the car, In-N-Out has built a following that extends well beyond its restaurant doors. Even the famously discerning chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain was an admirer, calling In-N-Out his “favorite restaurant in Los Angeles.”

So while the California-born chain doesn’t offer delivery, it’s not stopping some creative and hungry patrons who are willing to pay someone to make the trip for them. Customers are now turning to platforms like Taskrabbit to bring those burgers and fries to their doorstep. And according to Taskrabbit, approximately half of fast-food chain pickup requests on the platform across Los Angeles and Orange County are for In-N-Out alone. 

The demand has grown so high that an underground gray market has flourished in delivering those cult-classic burgers to hungry customers. 

Some people have been advertising unofficial In-N-Out delivery services on Facebook Marketplace, according to L.A. Material. The arrangements extend to task platforms, where customers hire someone to collect everything, from a meal to even dozens of cheeseburgers for a wedding. With fans wanting those burgers delivered so badly, they’ll hire someone through Facebook Marketplace or Taskrabbit—and independent drivers are turning those cravings into a business. 

The orders aren’t small-fried either. Earlier this year, a Hollywood customer posted what Taskrabbit described as a “small job”: “I need 150 In-N-Out cheeseburgers picked up and dropped off please :).” The company told Fortune a local Tasker accepted and completed the delivery. And of all those........

© Fortune