In-N-Out Burger CEO to join the list of high-profile business figures to leave California
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, center, poses with In-N-Out Burger owner and President Lynsi Snyder, to his right, in Franklin, Tenn., on Jan. 10, 2023. Credit: AP/Jonathan Mattise
LOS ANGELES — As California’s much-loved hamburger chain In-N-Out Burger expands across the country into Tennessee, billionaire owner and CEO Lynsi Snyder has announced she and her family are going with it and heading east, too.
“There are a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here,” Snyder announced last week on the “Relatable” podcast, hosted by conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey. “Doing business is not easy here.”
Snyder said the corporate headquarters will remain in California. The company announced in 2023 that it planned to open a corporate office in Tennessee, along with restaurants in and around Nashville.
With her move to Tennessee, Snyder becomes the latest high-profile business figure to decamp a state known for its sunshine but also heavy taxes and regulation, progressive politics and a punishing cost of living.
Other departures have included Charles Schwab and Chevron, which cited regulatory issues, taxes and high operating costs, and Elon Musk announced last year he was moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas. He said at the time that a California law barring school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change was the “final straw.”
Snyder is the granddaughter of the chain’s founder, Harry Snyder, who opened his first drive-thru hamburger stand in Southern California in 1948. The California cachet has long been part of the brand's identity.
According to its website, In-N-Out Burger has over 400 locations across eight states — California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho.
File - People walk below an In-N-Out Burger restaurant sign in San Francisco, Aug. 25, 2022. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
In a post on the social media platform X, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said, “From the first time I met Lynsi and her team, we both knew (the chain) would thrive in the Volunteer State.”
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