Although it feels like so long ago now, you’ll likely recall that in 2019, people throughout the country fell into a sort of mania over a new chicken sandwich Popeye’s released at the time.
Naturally, that wasn’t a frenzy that their competitors wanted to ignore so it wasn’t long before other fast food chains started unveiling their own fried chicken products in the hopes of drawing some of that bizarre excitement their way.
Given that context and In N Out Burger’s reputation for having a “secret menu,” it’s perhaps unsurprising that videos that appeared to show the beloved regional chain getting in on the action were so easy to believe.
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But things took an unusual turn once the company themselves responded to these clips.
Over the past two weeks, TikTok users have recorded themselves supposedly ordering chicken sandwiches off the “secret menu” at In N Out locations.
The first to do so seemed to be @andynot2021, whose video featured a chicken sandwich nestled in one of the chain’s burger wrappers and sitting on the order counter.
He shows himself asking, “Can I order from your secret menu. Can I get a chicken sandwich?”
However, it’s worth noting that between this request and the sandwich’s appearance, we neither see the worker he’s talking to respond nor give it to him.
Still, any lingering suspicions became easier to ignore when another user named @mommapeaches5 uploaded her own video depicting a sandwich with similar presentation.
Again, this chicken sandwich is shown on the restaurant’s order counter among a trove of burgers that we would normally expect to see served there.
However, anyone who tries to order this “secret menu” item after seeing one of these TikToks will probably be disappointed.
That’s because a representative from In N Out made a statement to Insider that — unlike the grilled cheese sandwich that was once legitimately a secret menu item before being declassified — there is no In N Out chicken sandwich.
As this person said, “The videos were likely created as a prank, or to attract online attention.”
And if those craving an In N Out chicken sandwich weren’t already disappointed enough to discover these videos are potentially fake, they’re definitely not going to like the rest of the chain’s response.
Namely, that In N Out has no plans to release their own chicken sandwich.
In the representative’s words, “Since 1948, we’ve served only the freshest, highest quality hamburgers, French fries and beverages. We remain committed to serving just those menu items in order to allow us to keep our intense focus on the quality of the products we serve.”
Still, if you have a hankering for a fried chicken sandwich, at least there’s no shortage of other places you can easily get one from.
h/t: Insider
