Why the Owner of In-N-Out Burger is Fleeing California
In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder specifically cited the challenges of raising a family and doing business in California as the reasons for the exodus.
Few food chains are more beloved in California than In-N-Out Burger.
Whenever my family set out on a road trip, a stop at an In-N-Out Burger was a must. I always ordered a Double-Double, fries, and a chocolate shake.
So, for California, it is a disturbing sign of the times that the owner of the food chain has had enough of the Golden State’s inanity and is moving her family to Tennessee.
In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder specifically cited the challenges of raising a family and doing business in California as the reason for the exodus.
Snyder grew up in Northern California, before moving to Southern California. She has four children and is married to Sean Ellingston, who has a background in Christian ministry and mentoring.
“We’re building an office in Franklin [Tennessee,] so I’m actually moving out there,” Snyder said on an episode of the podcast Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey that aired on Friday, per Fox 11.
“There’s a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here,” Snyder said. “Doing business is not easy here now.”
Last year, the company closed a location in Oakland that had been operating for 18 years, citing crime issues that impacted customers and employees. It was the only location to have closed in its 77-year history. It currently operates more than 400 locations.
Part of the decision making could be the result of “long covid.” In-N-Out Burger stores were forced to shut down in California when they refused to play “vaccine police.”
If the owner of a highly successful food chain struggles to raise a family or run a business in the state, imagine how much harder it is for those with more modest means or owners of smaller operations.
Now there are some questions about whether the actual headquarters will be leaving California. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office insists the chain is simply establishing an eastern headquarters in Tennessee, while consolidating two California offices into a western headquarters.
In-N-Out Burger said it is closing a corporate office in Orange County and will consolidate its west coast headquarters in Baldwin Park, the city in Los Angeles County where the fast food chain was founded. The company also plans to open a new regional office in Tennessee to support a planned expansion in the southeast.
In-N-Out said last week that it plans to consolidate its two Southern California offices with the aim of closing the Irvine location in 2028.
But this attempt was met with ridicule.
You guys just can’t stop with that gaslighting…
“Raising a family is not easy here… Running a business is not easy here…”https://t.co/OXEe1cWgfS
— King Bawk Bawk 🐔 (@KingBawkBawk) July 19, 2025
It seems to me the smart strategy would be to gradually “transition” to a stronger East Coast presence — getting ahead of the growing wave of people fleeing California. That may well be the long-term plan.
In-N-Out will open locations in Tennessee and other states that can be reached from the company’s beef facility in Texas. That suggests expansion into Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. But not much further.
“Florida has begged us, and we’re still saying no,” Snyder said. “The East Coast states, we’re still saying no.
“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. So Texas can reach some other states.”
I believe In-N-Out Burger will find much success out east — where there are many former Californians who miss its burgers, fries, and shakes.
My wife is a refugee from California. She’s basically said that the only thing she misses about California is the weather and In-n-Out. Optimistic they will come to Ohio. https://t.co/50JBOE49Zq
— AJ Powers (@aj_powers) July 19, 2025
How long the “western headquarters” and remaining California stores stay open likely depends on how challenging it remains for In-N-Out Burger to do business in the state.
I am not hopeful. But at least the new stores are opening in states I am considering for my future headquarters.
In-n-Out President Lynsi Snyder reveals for the first time that she and her family are LEAVING California for Tennessee. “Raising a family is not easy here,” she told me. “Doing business is not easy here.”
After 77 years, In-n-Out HQ will say goodbye to its home state and set… pic.twitter.com/yorQTiRXzx
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) July 18, 2025
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Comments
b/c at first they were
in
and now they are
out
“difficult to raise a family”
well she is just doing the smart thing and not saying the exact reason which we know is
blmplo is taking over and our customers wont take the chances on entering the war zone
New saying:
You didn’t unbuild that. Government unbuilt that.
What Grusome would say when channeling his inner Obamarama.
2026: Remaining restaurants in California will be renamed “In Burger” — all others to be known as “Out Burger.”
New logo will be a stylized rendition of this Berlin Wall image reimagined in Corporate Memphis.
Tommy’s is still great. The safest fast food in dangerous areas as they were considered neutral turf.
I had no idea things had gotten to the point that eating in the wrong fast food joint could get you killed. How third world.
‘I believe In-N-Out Burger will find much success out east — where there are many former Californians who miss its burgers, fries, and shakes.’
Nobody misses the fries. Their fries are terrible. Animal fries makes them decent but not great.
If they partnered with somebody else to get better fries they’d double their business.
True. McDonald’s has the fries and KFC the coleslaw. Jack in the Box for the Oreo shake. Still, it’s fun to go for the Double Double Animal style and, at least temporarily, live the California dream. Around the country, A&W fulfilled that in the 50’s and early 60’s as did Big Boy.
I like their fries, but they have to be eaten immediately! For some reason they have the shortest shelf-life of the fast food fries. McDonald’s, if not over salted, are still better though.
As a recent escapee from California, I welcome In-N-Out to come join me in the land of sanity.
Come to NC!
Next year the company will change the names of its California stores to “We’re Out Of Here Burger” and begin shutting down.
ozzy is dead
long live ozzy
When I lived in the Bay Area, I used to go to an In-N-Out in the East Bay. Later I switched to Habit. Much better. I agree with the poster who complained about In-N-Out fries. Although I stopped eating fries more than ten years ago. It’s much less healthy than the burgers. Even then I would have them hold the roll to avoid the carbs. My health improved a lot on a low carb diet, and I was pretty healthy before, but I wanted to lose weight. I lost over 20 pounds in a few months. I was not overweight, I just wanted to return to my prior very thin. I do have fries, but very rarely.
To Governor Newsom Press Office: You guys just can’t stop acting like schmucks. Lynsi Snyder was very clear about why she left CA. Why many of us did. I lived over half my life in CA, and it became intolerable. CA is becoming a place of the very rich, lunatics, and the Third World. Stop it. We don’t need any more Californians in Texas. We are full up.
Newsom: Many people will crawl over broken glass to vote against you. The rest of the US is not CA.
Read what you wrote. YOU moved to Texas but now, no more California folks please.
“I got mine.”
As I understand it, out of the 400 or so In-and-Out locations in this country, 281 were in California earlier this year. If say 5% of the California locations close while the total number nationwide remains the same, it makes sense to conclude that they are shifting out of California. I could be wrong, but I was given to understand that the locations are NOT franchises but are company-owned. That will make the transition easier, and the limiting factor would seem to be how fast they can build, equip, staff and train, and set up the supply lines for new out of California stores.
Subotai Bahadur
Two thoughts:
1) Franklin TN is pretty damn woke. We were very deliberate on avoiding Nashville area.
2) I can’t speak for the rest of the state but they are facing a crowded marketplace in Knoxville/Dollywood/Tri cities area. YES – TN is booming. I was immediately spoiled by the dining options in the Tri cities, especially coming from the hell hole blue state where dining options were dead due to COVID murdering small business and the crime wave making eating anywhere a guarantee of a smashed window or keyed car.
Commercial real estate is expensive here because of the influx. Sadly some of the more rural areas need more ammenities to draw traffic, but it just has not worked that way. Greeneville (where that penny slug factory is) has not seen the commercial real estate boom.
In TN, everything shuts down if there is even a little bit or snow or ice.
About In-N-Out’s French Fries. They use fresh potatoes and slice them in-store. McDonald’s uses frozen fries.
While the first 3 In-N-Outs were close to where I grew up, for fast food, it was A&W with car-hops. There was one diagonally across an intersection from my high school, which was less than a block from my home.
For a sit-down restaurant, it was Bob’s Big Boy in Pasadena. There were two on Colorado Blvd—one near PCC and another, with car hops, on the east end of town.
Before I could drive, when we visited my mother’s parents, it was Karl’s restaurant at the corner of Figueroa and Flower, near the college in Los Angeles. There is an apartment building there now.