In-N-Out Burger is making changes to its corporate headquarters in a way that takes the brand home again—but also sets up potential East Coast growth.
The beloved quick-service chain has long operated two corporate offices in Southern California: the first near its original location in Baldwin Park, California, and a second in nearby Irvine, California. This week, however, the company announced plans to close its Irvine office by 2029.
Team members there will either move to the Baldwin Park office, which will become the “Western Territory headquarters,” or relocate to the new Eastern Territory office under construction in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. That office is expected to open next year.
“Some of our associates will be relocating to Tennessee, which makes it even more important to centralize our western headquarters in one location, and our company’s deepest roots are in Baldwin Park,” said the chain’s owner Lynsi Snyder, in a statement. “Our West Coast family will be together in one place, where In-N-Out Burger began.”
Snyder’s grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder, founded the chain in 1948 in what was a tiny 10-foot-by-10-foot drive-thru burger stand, now known as In-N-Out Store #1. The corporate offices were established less than a mile away.
But in 1994, the Irvine office was opened. The move was begun by Lynsi’s uncle, Rich Snyder, who died unexpectedly in 1993, before the move was completed. Today, about 500 team members work there across nine floors.
In 2023, however, In-N-Out made the surprising announcement that it was planning to open its first restaurant east of the Mississippi River in the Nashville area, as well as a new territory office there. Currently, In-N-Out operates 418 restaurants in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho.
In-N-Out has always grown slowly and deliberately. The chain serves beef that is never frozen, and the company controls distribution, so growth has been limited to within 300 or so miles of meat distribution centers. When the move to Tennessee was announced, In-N-Out said restaurants there would be served by a meat production facility in Lancaster, Texas.
Lynsi, in a statement, said she believes her grandparents would support the move.
“In every decision about the future of In-N-Out Burger, I give strong consideration to what my grandparents and my family would think is best for our company,” she said. “I know my family would be in support of this move because it brings our In-N-Out family back together in a way that helps us better serve our customers, who are the most important priority.”
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