Lynsi Snyder, the billionaire owner and president of In-N-Out Burger, clarified that while she may be leaving California, the chain restaurant’s headquarters isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re not moving In-N-Out Burger’s corporate headquarters,” Snyder, 43, clarified on Monday. “We’re not leaving California, or leaving our roots behind. Each one of our locations is here to stay.”
Snyder said that her company’s employees will have a chance to be a part of the eastward expansion.
“Where I raise my family has nothing to do with my love and appreciation for our customers in California,” she added.
The existing headquarters in Irvine, California, will shut down by 2029, and In-N-Out will instead be based out of nearby Baldwin Park.
Snyder backtracked on some of the comments she made last week.
Snyder’s previous statements about move
She appeared on the “Relatable” podcast, released Friday, where she talked about an upcoming move to moving to the suburbs outside Nashville, Tennessee.
“We’re building an office in Franklin,” she said. “I’m actually moving out there.”
This news didn’t come as a surprise. In 2023, In-N-Out announced it planned to open a corporate office in Tennessee, along with expanding its restaurant chain to the state, within the next three years.
Snyder said she “loved” growing up in Northern California and that “there’s a lot of great things about” the state. “But raising a family is not easy here. Doing business is not easy here,” the In-N-Out president added.
Her initial comments sparked speculation about Snyder taking her family and her company headquarters to Tennessee.
Conservative accounts on X blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state Democratic officials for driving the burger chain out of the state, especially since Snyder recounted the hardships of running her company in the state.
Newsom’s press office defended In-N-Out’s plans last week, and justified the office in Tennessee is “a second HQ.”
As for Snyder’s personal decision to move, the press office said they think it’s “to better oversee expansion in the Eastern U.S.,” without addressing the In-N-Out’s criticism about the lack of family-friendly polices in California.
Eastward expansion
As CNBC notes, Tennessee doesn’t tax individual income and its corporate tax rate — 6.5% — is lower than California’s 8.84%.
When In-N-Out was established in 1948, it was the first drive-thru hamburger joint in the state. Now, the burger restaurant has a total of 400 locations across eight states, including Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Utah.
“Florida has begged us and we’re still saying no,” she said.
In fact, in 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a private meeting with Snyder, pitched bringing the chain restaurant to his state but she declined and pointed out that all their suppliers are based on the West Coast.
But the future doesn’t look too bleak for a possibility with the latest move.
“The East Coast, we’re saying no. We are able to reach Tennessee from our Texas warehouse,” Snyder said. “Texas can reach some other states.”
