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Florida’s CFO Pounces to Persuade In-N-Out Burger to Move Into Sunshine State and Out of California

Florida’s CFO Pounces to Persuade In-N-Out Burger to Move Into Sunshine State and Out of California

“As a small business owner who grew up in a family-owned restaurant, I know how hard it is to make a profit on a good day, let alone when your own government is working to crush your business with overreaching mandates.”

My colleague Mary Chastain has reported on how the state of California has closed locations of the popular hamburger chain, In-N-Out, as its corporate headquarters refuses to implement policies that would force it to be “vaccine police” over its customers.

Politicians from the State of Florida have recently seized upon California’s many economic failures to persuade businesses to consider Sunshine State alternatives. For example, in the wake of the cargo ship traffic jam off California’s coast, Governor Ron DeSantis invited shippers to consider those in his state.

Now the state’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has pounced on another opportunity, said he’d be “honored” to help In-N-Out “find the perfect place to start a new In-N-Out story right here in Florida.”

Patronis, who says in the letter he’s “pro-vaccine but anti-mandate,” wrote he was “impressed” the company was opposing “government overreach.”

He added that Gov. Ron DeSantis has “led our state forward without harsh lockdowns or mandates,” noting that DeSantis recently handed down a $3.5 million fine to the Leon County government for firing employees over vaccine requirements.

Patronis says Florida’s business climate is “perfect,” highlighting “no personal income tax, low corporate taxes, an educated workforce and a fantastic quality of life.”

Patronis owns and operates Florida’s Captain Anderson Restaurant and Waterfront Market. In the letter to the president of In-N-Out Burger, he related his experience about the difficulties an overreaching government creates for a restaurateur.

“As a small business owner who grew up in a family-owned restaurant, I know how hard it is to make a profit on a good day, let alone when your own government is working to crush your business with overreaching mandates,” Patronis wrote to In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder.

..He then extolled Florida’s pro-business climate and how it loves business owners, entrepreneurs and employees. He offered to help Snyder explore relocating In-N-Out Burger to Florida.

“As a member of the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors, the business development arm of the state, I’d be honored to introduce you to our team and help you find the perfect place to start a new In-N-Out story here in Florida,” he said.

I can attest to the fact that In-N-Out burgers are tasty. I am not the only one, and it appears that other states may battle Florida for the chain.

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Comments

Florida is the perfect place for those sleeping blue state authoritarianism.
Our governor invited all the New York City police and firemen to come to Florida as well.
Ron DeSantis should run for president in 2024
He has the Trump agenda without the mean tweets

Sorry. Won’t work. One of their claims to fame is that their materials have never been frozen. That puts a limitation on how far their stores an e from then. So, we have in/out here in PHX, but nowhere near us in NW MT.

    henrybowman in reply to Bruce Hayden. | November 2, 2021 at 6:42 pm

    It certainly would be a major exodus. They wouldn’t be moving out of just California, they’d be moving out of everywhere west of Texas — meaning, everywhere they are now.

    It would make more sense for them to move to Arizona or El Paso — that way, they could serve almost all of their existing outlets plus a load of new ones. Given that their shipping restriction is more or less radial, being located on a coast was way too limiting to begin with. They could be twice their size in a few years.

    Or, if (like a lot of California outfits) they are jealous of their own freedom (but not so much for yours), there’s always New Mexico.

    randian in reply to Bruce Hayden. | November 2, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    That’s why INO put a beef processing center in Texas. If they moved to Florida, there’s no reason for the California one to disappear, and they could make a new center in (for example) Jacksonville to serve Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

I live in CA. I abhor fast food, for the most part. In and Out is a sort of exception. Extraordinarily well run and good (considering) food.

Please, please move to FL. You (In and Out) are too good for CA. The only salvation this place has hope of is that enough good companies leave that the populace wakes up before the collapse becomes inevitable. The move to FL will be good for you and maybe wake the idiots in this state up. Likely not.

We had a chance to get rid of Governor HairSpray. They managed to paint a proud black man as a white supremacist. Go figure.

I don’t know a single small businessman that can get out of the state that isn’t finding a way to do so. I am late ’70’s, starting over one more time is unrealistic. I should have left 20 years ago when it was within my capabilities.

    henrybowman in reply to lichau. | November 2, 2021 at 6:44 pm

    I don’t understand. Are you still working at 70? If not, what’s holding you? That’s exactly when people “move to Florida” (at least figuratively, if not literally).

      My mother claimed that in her married life she had lived in 35 houses. Some were after I left or before I could remember. My own life has seen several major relocations. No fun. Went to three high schools.
      Family (mostly). They are considering moving, if they do I will go with them. Otherwise, I stay put,
      Friends, medical care, mechanic, barber, etc. Little stuff.
      Yes, I still work, but mostly in front of my computer. That can move.

The big question about FL The DeSantis/Gillum race went to DeSantis by less than half a point.

    natdj in reply to lichau. | November 2, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    Yes and no. More no actually. Here in Florida, while the media (the enemy of the people) continue with their lies about Covid deaths, the reality is that Republicans here will become the majority party possibly this year or early next year. Yes, the election for governor will be force, but having a majority Republican in voter registration and with most here wanting freedom over slavery, DeSantis is in better shape then in 2018.

      Antifundamentalist in reply to natdj. | November 2, 2021 at 9:13 pm

      Well, they will unless Leftist keep moving here in droves and bringing their voting habits with them! There are too many people here in Florida as it is, we are overbuilt and our natural resources are overextended. We don’t need them. Our Florida waterways CERTAINLY don’t need the additional strain.

Now hold on a second, moving to Texas would make a lot more sense, because….. well, because I live in Texas and they make some great burgers.

    henrybowman in reply to Paul. | November 2, 2021 at 6:46 pm

    Problem is, Texas is so big that if you moved to the cattle capital region, you’d still lose all your existing stores. In El Paso, you’d keep your stores, but the beef would be harder to come by.

    txvet2 in reply to Paul. | November 3, 2021 at 1:46 am

    They’re already in Texas. There’s a location just south of me, northern San Antonio.

The Contra Costa County Health Dept that shutdown the Pleasant Hill In and Out Burger last week received threatening phone calls. The county sent everyone that worked in the building home. While I don’t agree with the phone calls…..the county should stop picking on Christian fast food restaurants. My neighbors say their VAX records have never been checked at dining establishments but the county is expecting a high school kid to be checking the VAX record of every In and Out diner.

Comanche Voter | November 3, 2021 at 11:58 am

Florida keep your mitts off In n Out. It’s a family run and owned business. You can’t have In n Out unless you take a burger out of my cold dead hands.