In-N-Out CEO airs California grievances, talks Tennessee expansion in podcast appearance
In-N-Out CEO Lynsi Snyder had harsh words for the state where her parents built a burger empire.
In an appearance on the "Relatable" podcast, Snyder aired grievances with California while saying she will be moving her family to Tennessee with the opening of the company's second headquarters.
"There’s a lot of great things about California," Snyder said. "But raising a family is not easy here. Doing business is not easy here."
Snyder also groused about the state's implementation of rules surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw state health officials shut down two restaurants in 2021 for not checking vaccine status.
"You’ve got to do this," Snyder said of the vaccine mandate for indoor dining. "You have to have this plastic thing between us and our customers. It was really terrible, you know? And I look back, I’m like, we should have pushed even harder on that stuff. We’re not policing our customers."
Snyder appeared to moderate her stances in the wake of the appearance in a statement provided to Paste BN by the company and posted to her Instagram page on July 22.
"Where I raise my family has nothing to do with my love and appreciation for our Customers in California," Snyder said. "I’m very proud of where In-N-Out started. Anyone who knows me knows how often I talk about our beginnings and how our Customers here in California helped bring us to where we are today."
In-N-Out adding Tennessee HQ but not leaving California
In-N-Out announced in February that many of its California corporate employees will move from Irvine in Orange County to an office in the Los Angeles-area city of Baldwin Park, where the company was founded in 1948. The company had been in the Irvine office since 1994.
The move to the Baldwin Park office, about 40 miles northwest of the Irvine offices and one mile from the first restaurant opened by Harry and Esther Snyder, is expected to be complete by the end of 2029.
The company said that after the Irvine office's closure, corporate employees will be stationed either at the Baldwin Park office or at the Tennessee office. The Nashville-area office is on track to open in 2026, the company said at the time.
Snyder downplays East Coast expansion
Snyder tamped down on the possibility of a further East Coast expansion, pointing to logistical difficulties.
"We’re able to reach Tennessee from our Texas warehouse. We’ll have a warehouse, but not do our own meat there, so we’ll be able to deliver from Texas," Snyder said.
The company operates 281 of its 418 locations in California but has steadily expanded in recent years. Snyder added that the bulk of the company's stores will be in California.
"Florida has begged us, and we’re still saying no," Snyder said. "The East Coast states, we’re still saying no."
This story has been updated with new information