In-N-Out Burger, the famous California fast food chain, is expanding eastward as far as Tennessee, a move Tennessee’s governor called “life-changing”.
The family-owned burger company will open an “eastern territory office” in Tennessee, as well as several Nashville-area restaurants, by 2026, according to state officials, and In-N-Out’s owner said further eastward expansion was in the works.
In-N-Out, “a cult that happens to serve burgers and fries”, as Bon Appétit once put it, was founded in a suburb of Los Angeles, and has expanded to only six other western states in its 75-year history. It currently sells its drive-thru burgers as far east as Texas.
“We get a lot of requests in different states to open, and I’m very happy to meet the customers here and make their dreams come true, and probably a few other states a little upset,” Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, In-N-Out’s owner and president, said at a Tennessee press conference announcing the expansion.
“Don’t worry, there’s others that will be included in this plan eventually,” she added.
The burger chain, founded in 1948, is iconic in California, famous for its nostalgic decor, never-frozen burgers, and curiously disappointing french fries.
It has hosted wedding photo shoots and even wedding receptions, while also sparking backlash in recent years for the family-owned company’s conservative politics, donations to the California Republican party and its public refusal to comply with a San Francisco vaccine mandate in 2021.
In-N-Out’s slow expansion eastward from California has been met with an enthusiastic response in the past, with customers in Texas camping in a parking lot overnight to get early access to its burgers, the Huffington Post reported in 2011. “You would think the pope was here,” a local journalist was quoted as saying.
But some residents of the eastern United States have also greeted the hype around the west coast burger chain with skepticism. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez labeled In-N-Out “overrated”, in a 2022 interview, citing in particular the quality of the french fries.
Someone had to say it!! 🍟 https://t.co/LecnEQzxSA
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 25, 2022
Many California residents continue to buy in fully to the In-N-Out cult. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who moved to California in 2020, have touted their love of In-N-Out in multiple interviews with US news outlets, saying the staff at their favorite location know their typical order. Harry recently told People magazine his go-to meal is “two double-doubles [cheeseburgers], animal style fries and a Coke”.
Bill Lee, Tennessee’s governor, said that he had a vivid personal memory of eating his first In-N-Out Burger in southern California and appreciating the Bible verse famously printed on the bottom of the burger chain’s cups.
He called In-N-Out “a great American company” and said he was excited and grateful to the company for choosing Tennessee for “its first eastern United States hub”. which is expected to create at least 275 new local jobs.
“It’s a life-changing decision. It’s exciting for our state,” Lee said.