In-N-Out Burger CEO Lynsi Snyder is attempting to clear up confusion sparked by sensational headlines and misguided social media posts that led many people to believe she is relocating the company from California to Tennessee.
Not true, Snyder says.
The 43-year-old granddaughter of In-N-Out founders Harry and Ester Snyder recently appeared on the “Relatable” podcast, where she announced that she is relocating her family from California to Tennessee, where the burger chain is currently expanding and adding a regional headquarters.
“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, a mother of four, told host Allie Beth Stuckey.
This brief segment of a much longer interview generated national headlines. On social media, many interpreted Snyder’s comments as an announcement that the company was abandoning California, where it started in 1948 as a tiny burger stand in Baldwin Park.
Late Monday, Snyder posted a video on social media to set the record straight.
“We’re not moving In-N-Out Burger’s corporate headquarters,” she said. “We’re not leaving California or leaving our roots behind. Each one of our locations is here to stay.”
In fact, In-N-Out’s expansion into Tennessee was announced in January 2023 with a regional office in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville, slated to open next year. In February of this year, the company revealed plans to gradually relocate its corporate headquarters from Irvine, in Orange County, to Baldwin Park.
While Snyder has, at times, been a vocal critic of the political and business climate in California, she says her personal move to Tennessee is just that: personal.
“Where I raise my family has nothing to do with my love and appreciation for our Customers in California. I’m very proud of where In-N-Out started, and anyone who knows me knows how often I talk about our beginnings and how our customers here in California brought us to where we are today,” she said.
Snyder’s three-minute social media monologue, however, wasn’t entirely a love letter to the Golden State. She also made it clear that California’s high cost of living, particularly housing, has been a factor in the company’s decision to expand into Tennessee and potentially other, more affordable states in the future.
“Moving into Tennessee provides our In-N-Out Associates wonderful opportunities to buy a home and raise a family and be part of our expansion in a different part of the U.S.,” Snyder said. “It’s tough here in California, and this doesn’t have to do with my love or loyalty to the state and our customers. But I love our associates and I [want to] offer them this.”