ands, it’s In-n-Out. The chain started in southern California in 1948 and grew slowly as a family-owned enterprise. It now has more than 400 restaurants and has slowly moved east into neighboring states.
Two years ago the company announced plans for a new distribution center in Tennessee which would allow expansion to some nearby states, but not yet to the east coast. However, the company’s CEO revealed last week that she is moving to Tennessee herself and moving the company headquarters with her.
In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder has said that she and her family are moving from her home state of California to Tennessee.
Snyder, 43, the billionaire heiress to the famed burger chain, cited the challenges of raising a family in the Golden State while it also comes at a time when the company is expanding the business into the Volunteer State.
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.”
In-n-Out hasn’t had many failures to speak of but last year it did close a restaurant in Oakland, CA. Snyder explained at the time that issues related to crime were a major factor in the closure.
“It was just absolutely dangerous. In, out of 365 days, I think 300 days there was some type of event,” Snyder told PragerU host Marissa Streit. The president cited burglaries, violence, fights, theft, and a stabbing, and said there was even an incident of gunshots fired through the store.
The president of the popular fast food chain also noted the lengthy wait time for police to show up when called. The city is notorious for slow 911 response times. Oakland 911 wait times were worse than any other city in the state, with an average wait time lasting three to four times longer than the state mandate, a 2023 NBC report found.
“It was huge,” Snyder said of the decision to shut down the store. “But, for the safety of our associates, we just felt like, this is not okay.”
Snyder also cited COVID era restrictions in California as part of the reason it was difficult to run a business there.
Snyder cited COVID-era business restrictions, such as mask mandates and vaccine requirements, as particular elements of California policy that made it difficult to operate in the state.
In 2021, health officials temporarily shut down several In-N-Out locations in California because the chain refused to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Most of the company’s stores are in California and continue to do very well. I can tell you from experience that trying to get a burger there at peak lunch or dinner hours always involves a line of cars and people. So the west coast operation will continue and a headquarters will still exist in Baldwin Park where the company was founded. But the current headquarters in Irvine, CA will be shut down.
The Tennessee headquarters will open next year, Snyder said. The company will move its operations either to those headquarters or to the company’s offices in Baldwin Park, California. The company’s office in Irvine, California, which has grown over the years, will close by 2030…
The challenge for In-N-Out is its geography. The fast-food chain operates 281 of its 418 locations in California, but Snyder and other top corporate officers will be about three-quarters of the country away, and further east than any of the chain’s locations.
The company isn’t leaving California, but overall this is not a vote of confidence for the state. Snyder’s decision to move east is similar to Elon Musk’s decision to move his headquarters to Texas and build a giant new factory there rather than expanding in California. Musk also had a conflict with California elected officials during the pandemic.
California has a lot going for it but the progressives running the state make it difficult to enjoy it. I suspect we’ll continue to see big companies moving elsewhere as the environment for families and business gets increasingly unpleasant. Frankly, if my kids were younger, I’d be leaving too.
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