East Coast fans of In-N-Out Burger have been waiting with bated breath for the cult burger chain to announce its expansion to their part of the country — and they’ll be disappointed by Lynsi Snyder’s recent interview with NBC’s Today.
NBC’s Savannah Sellers said Snyder, who is the chain’s president and granddaughter of its founders, said it has no plans to launch on the East Coast.
“I of course had to ask about expanding to the East Coast,” Sellers said. “Lynsi said as long as she’s around the answer is probably never.”
Snyder’s grandparents opened the first In-N-Out location as a burger stand in Baldwin Park, Los Angeles County, California, in 1948.
The chain opened its first non-California restaurant in Las Vegas in 1992. It’s since expanded to six more states: Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho. It has about 400 restaurants in total.
In-N-Out has announced plans to open restaurants in New Mexico and Tennessee, too, and it confirmed to Today that it’s also coming to Washington State.
The first Tennessee restaurant in Nashville is expected to open in 2026, which will be the furthest east that the chain will have expanded.
When new In-N-Out restaurants open, they’re typically met with a massive fanfare. Some fans camped out overnight in the cold weather for the opening of its first Idaho location in December 2023.
Business Insider has approached In-N-Out for comment on why it doesn’t plan to expand to the East Coast.
In-N-Out doesn’t use franchisees
To expand into new states, In-N-Out may have to build new distribution and beef production facilities first, BI reported last year.
Because the chain has a strict no freezers and no microwaves policy, restaurants must be located within a certain distance of the company’s distribution facilities, meaning it can’t always rely on pre-existing facilities in other states.
In-N-Out’s geographic spread is also limited by its refusal to launch a franchise business, which Snyder reiterated during her interview with Today.
Franchise restaurants can help chains expand in new areas because the franchisees take on most of the development cost and generally have knowledge of the local market.
Most major fast-food chains — including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway — have used franchising to expand their empires. At McDonald’s, 95% of its US restaurants are franchised.
Snyder also told Today that In-N-Out would “absolutely” stay a private company while she remains in charge.
Are you a fast-food worker excited about California’s new $20 minimum wage for limited-service restaurants? Or a franchisee or restaurant manager worried about how it will affect your business? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.
