In-N-Out Burger: History, Key Facts and Reviews

1948-1975: California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand

In-N-Out Burger was founded on October 22, 1948, when Harry and Esther Snyder opened a small stand in Baldwin Park, a suburb east of Los Angeles (Wikipedia). It stood at what is now the corner of Interstate 10 and Francisquito Avenue. It was the first drive-thru hamburger stand in California: drivers ordered through a two-way speaker without leaving their car. The menu was short from the start, with burgers, fries, drinks and shakes, and it has barely changed since. The family chose to keep every restaurant company-owned and to refuse franchising, a rule still in place.

1976-2006: growth through family loss

The Snyder family ran In-N-Out through a series of losses. Harry Snyder died in 1976 and his son Rich became president. Under Rich, the chain opened its first restaurant outside Southern California, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1992. He died in a plane crash in 1993, and his brother Guy took over until his own death in 1999. Esther Snyder then returned to the presidency and opened the first restaurants in Arizona in 2000. When she died in 2006, at 86, former operations vice president Mark Taylor became president. The company kept its own meat processing plant in Baldwin Park, and opened distribution centers in Lathrop, Phoenix, Draper, Dallas and Colorado Springs to serve each new region.

2008-2023: Lynsi Snyder and the move east

In-N-Out reached Utah in 2008, with a restaurant in Washington, Utah. Lynsi Snyder, Guy’s daughter and the founders’ only grandchild, became president on January 1, 2010 (Wikipedia). She gained control of half the company when she turned 30 in 2012 and nearly all of it at 35, in May 2017. Under her lead the chain opened in Frisco and Allen, Texas, on May 11, 2011, in Medford, Oregon, on September 9, 2015, and in Aurora and Colorado Springs, Colorado, on November 20, 2020. Its first Idaho restaurant opened in Meridian in December 2023.

2023-2026: Tennessee, Washington and 442 restaurants

In January 2023 In-N-Out announced a $125.5 million eastern hub in Franklin, Tennessee, its biggest step away from the West. Its first Washington restaurant opened in Ridgefield on August 20, 2025, and the first Nashville-area locations followed in December 2025. On August 19, 2026, the chain had 442 restaurants: 289 in California, 43 in Texas, 40 in Arizona, 24 in Nevada, 15 each in Utah and Colorado, 5 each in Tennessee and Oregon, 4 in Idaho and 2 in Washington (ScrapeHero). The company does not publish its accounts; Restaurant Business estimated its sales at $1.823 billion in 2022, and it still has no restaurant outside the United States.

Key dates

• 1948: Harry and Esther Snyder open the first In-N-Out in Baldwin Park, California, on October 22.
• 1992: first restaurant outside Southern California, in Las Vegas.
• 2000: arrival in Arizona.
• 2010: Lynsi Snyder becomes president.
• 2011: first Texas restaurants, in Frisco and Allen.
• 2020: first Colorado restaurants, in Aurora and Colorado Springs.
• 2025: first restaurants in Washington state and the Nashville area.
• 2026: 442 restaurants in 10 states in August.