In-N-Out heiress announces she's leaving California

(KTLA) – In-N-Out Burger heiress and CEO Lynsi Snyder is relocating her family from California to Tennessee, a state where the beloved fast-food chain is embarking on a major expansion that could soon include other states.

"There's a lot of really great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here. Doing business is not easy here," Snyder, 43, recently told Allie Beth Stuckey during an interview on the faith-focused podcast "Relatable."

"The bulk of our stores are still going to be here in California, but it will be wonderful having an office [in Tennessee] — growing out there," she said.

Snyder, a mother of four, didn't share many specifics about her move, only alluding to friction with California's political climate. She referenced a period in 2021 when two Bay Area In-N-Out locations were forced to temporarily close for refusing to check the vaccination status of indoor diners.

"When I look back, and I'm like, man, maybe we should have just pushed even harder on some of that stuff and dealt with all the legal backlash," she said. "That was definitely where we held the line — we're not policing our customers."

Lynsi is the granddaughter of Harry and Esther Snyder, who founded In-N-Out as a tiny burger stand in Baldwin Park, a Los Angeles suburb, in 1948. The company slowly added California locations over the decades until 1992, when it opened its first out-of-state restaurant in Las Vegas.

Today, In-N-Out has more than 280 restaurants in eight states: California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Idaho.

The privately owned chain's expansion into Tennessee was announced in early 2023. According to Snyder, it's only possible because trucks from the company's meat processing facility in Texas can reach the Volunteer State with fresh, not frozen, ground beef.

In-N-Out is reportedly planning 35 locations in Tennessee, in addition to a new regional headquarters in Franklin. They're expected to begin opening next year.

Further expansion in the southern U.S. is likely, she said, without revealing specifics.

"We're able to reach Tennessee from our Texas warehouse," Snyder said. "Texas can reach some other states, you know?"

While diners in nine states will soon be able to enjoy In-N-Out's famous Double-Doubles, milkshakes and French fries cooked in sunflower oil, those clamoring for In-N-Out to expand coast-to-coast will be disappointed by these remarks:

"Florida has begged us and we're still saying no," Snyder said. "The East Coast states — we're still saying no."

Snyder also announced the company's corporate office in Irvine will close by 2030, with all operations shifting back to the company's roots at a home office in Baldwin Park.