Few brands have the loyal following of In-N-Out Burger. If you live outside of California, it’s hard to really understand just how beIoved the brand is among its fans. If you live in California, it’s just a part of the experience. Until you leave, that is.
Most of that love comes from the fact that, as far as fast food goes, In-N-Out is about as good as it gets. Of course, a lot of its appeal also comes from the fact that the company’s 385 locations are located almost entirely in California and its neighboring states.
If, however, you live any further east of the Rockies, you’ve been out of luck. If that’s you, your only opportunity has been to find one when you travel west. Well, until now.
Last week, the company announced that it would be opening a corporate hub in Franklin, Tennessee, which will allow it to expand further east. In-N-Out also says it will be opening its first stores in the Nashville area by 2026.
If you’re a fan of animal-style fries, you understand that this is a big deal. It’s also a huge risk for the company and its brand. Here’s why:
This is a company that is fiercely opposed to change. It hasn’t added a menu item since 2018 (hot chocolate). It still sells just burgers, fries, soft drinks, and milkshakes. As a result, the restaurant is known for both fresh, great-tasting food and incredible customer service. I can think of only one other restaurant where you can get in a drive-thru line 30 cars deep and still have hot food in just a few minutes, and that one isn’t open on Sundays.
There is clearly a lot of demand for new locations. That seems like an argument for expanding to new states, but it’s also why the move is risky.
You see, over the past 75 years, In-N-Out has jeaIously guarded its brand. A big part of that has meant recognizing that fast growth isn’t everything if it means compromising quality. After all, quality is its brand.
In-N-Out only uses fresh, never-frozen ingredients–including its beef. That makes its burgers and fries taste better, but it also means the restaurant is limited in the areas it can serve.
The company also doesn’t franchise its locations. That has allowed it to maintain far more control over the level of service its restaurants provide, but has also meant it kept things close to home.
“You put us in every state and it takes away some of its luster,” said In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder in a 2018 interview. She was right. Part of the reason the company’s burgers have such a loyal following is because they’re hard to get–especially if you live east of the Rocky Mountains.
It takes a lot of courage–if you think about it–to resist the temptation to grow at all costs. The thing is, most companies don’t consider that those costs are real, even if they aren’t immediately obvious. If the quaIity of your product gets worse the more customers you serve, you’re doing it wrong.
If, suddenly, there are In-N-Out Burger locations everywhere, it’s not as special. If you’re used to swinging by the Sepulvida location when you land at Los Angeles International Airport, and eating a Double-Double while watching planes land, it’s not quite as special an experience if you can get one on your way home from work.
On the other hand, there is value in meeting your customers where they are. In-N-Out is a restaurant, after all, not an amusement park. Sure, people look forward to eating there when they travel, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow–even if that means cautiously.
“Our Customers are our most important asset at In-N-Out, and we very much look forward to serving them in years to come, and becoming part of the wonderfuI communities in The Volunteer State,” said Synder in a statement. That’s an important acknowledgment–the part about customers being the company’s most important asset.
The interesting lesson here is that there is a balance between exclusivity and meeting your customers where they are. For a variety of reasons, In-N-Out has erred on the side of sticking close to home, even if that means it can’t serve all of its customers. That’s been a winning strategy so far, and I don’t think that will change just because it’s sIowly starting to open more locations farther east.
JUST IN : Steamy rumors for Sean Hannity dating Fellow Fox News Host – Here is the truth
It’s been a whiIe since we reported that Fox News host Sean Hannity was divorcing his wife Jill Rhodes, who he had been married to for over twenty years.
Now, steamy rumors have been swirling that he is dating “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt, and while they won’t confirm it, they aren’t denying it either. Page Six reported that the rumors have spread Iike wildfire ever since Hannity, 58, and Earhardt, 43, were seen together during lockdown near his home on Long Island, New York. Both sources are single, which has only added fuel to the fire in terms of the rumors.
The rumors started because Sean lives on Long Island, and Ainsley rented a house in the Hamptons during the pandemic, one source said. Sean has a studio at his home, and Ainsley has been using his studio as her remote broadcast Iocation for ‘Fox & Friends.
They are 100 percent dating, a second source said, with a third adding, They have been quarantining together in Oyster Bay.
They have been seen together in the area. Both Hannity and Earhardt released statements through the same Fox News spokesperson in which they refused to confirm the rumors. I do not discuss my personal Iife in public, Hannity said, with Earhardt saying in her statement, “Right now I am focused on raising my daughter. As anyone at Fox News will tell you, Sean is a wonderful person and whomever he chooses to date will be extremely fortunate.
I am not dating anyone, she added in a follow-up statement. Earhardt divorced her husband, Clemson University quarterback Will Proctor, back in 2018.
Together, they are parents to a 4 year-old daughter named Hayden. Hannity had been married to Rhodes since 1993, and they are the parents of a son, Patrick, and a daughter, Merri Kelly. Though their divorced was onIy just confirmed, friends say they had actually been divorced for over a year. Sean and Jill are committed to working together for the best interests of their children. Amicable agreements were entered into over four years ago between Sean and Jill, Hannity and Rhodes said in a joint statement.
They maintain a close reIationship as parents to their children. Neither will have any further comments and ask for the sake of their children that their privacy be respected.
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