Lynsi Snyder, president and owner of In-N-Out, recently moved her family to Tennessee, but reiterated that the iconic burger chain will never abandon California.
In an interview with actor Terry Crews published online by In-N-Out, he was asked how the company would maintain its California DNA as it expands into more states across the country.
“This is where we started. This is where we are now, and this is where we will always be,” Snyder responded.
His grandparents opened the first In-N-Out in Southern California in 1948, and the business gradually expanded to other parts of the state and other parts of the country.
Although far from the largest chain, it retains a cult following that has helped it expand as people who left California make pilgrimages when restaurants open in new states.
But Snyder, who grew up in Northern California, revealed last year that she and her family were moving to Tennessee, saying that raising children was difficult in the state and “doing business wasn’t easy there either.”
That has sparked fears that In-N-Out could leave California, prompting the burger heiress, who is worth an estimated $7.3 billion, to clarify that her departure from the state does not mean the company will as well.
In a video posted to his Instagram page last year, Snyder told his followers, “We’re not leaving California, or leaving our roots behind. Each of our locations is here to stay.”
Still, there has been an exodus of companies from California to states like Texas, where Elon Musk has moved the headquarters of Tesla and SpaceX.
In-N-Out has also clashed with state authorities, such as when it refused to comply with authorities and require customers to show proof of vaccination to make purchases during the pandemic.
And the company reluctantly raised its prices after California imposed a higher minimum wage for fast food workers in 2024.
But in his latest interview, Snyder addressed fears about In-N-Out, which is headquartered in California and Tennessee.
“There were rumors that ‘they were going to close all their stores in California.’ I wonder, where does that come from? It’s unimaginable. I can’t even imagine that – the stupidest business decision ever made,” she said.
Snyder added that In-N-Out continues to grow in California, with “many stores” opening in other cities across the state.
At the same time, the company expanded to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Washington and Tennessee. Snyder suggested Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma are under consideration, with New Mexico also in the works.
But she insisted the company was taking a slow and steady growth approach that wouldn’t compromise the quality of its food and the values of its grandparents, adding that In-N-Out wouldn’t be able to accommodate every request to open a new location.
As for her own family’s move to Tennessee, Snyder described it as “kind of a God thing” and said she originally wanted to move to Colorado because she loves the mountains.
But her husband floated the idea of going to Tennessee instead. While they had already made plans, she recalled that “something just kind of clicked.”
“I felt it, and then I started looking at it, just praying, and I was like, ‘I think you’re right. I think this is where we’re supposed to go,'” Snyder said.
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