Despite never opening a permanent restaurant outside of the US, In-N-Out Burger has become a cult classic, with almost 390 branches in Southwestern America and devoted fans across the world. Now, though, the chain is preparing to move further eastward than ever before. In anticipation of the opening of restaurants in Tennessee (slated for 2026), and with the release of owner and president Lynsi Snyder’s book and the family-run company’s 75th anniversary in October 2023, we chart the fascinating rise of In-N-Out, from tiny first location to cultural icon.

Following his service in the Second World War, Harry Snyder was working in the kitchen of a Seattle catering company when he met his future wife, Esther. Wanting to return to his hometown of Baldwin Park, LA, budding businessman Harry convinced Esther to move states and set up their own restaurant. In 1948, his dream became a reality and In-N-Out was born in a space barely 10 square feet (just under 1sqm), across the road from Harry’s childhood home.

Working in his garage by night, Harry came up with the idea that would change everything: a two-way intercom and pick-up window to allow customers to receive their food order without leaving their vehicles. Californians loved the drive-thru concept, and Harry and Esther, who was in charge of the restaurant’s accounts, saw the popularity of their small burger bar grow and grow.

While competitors used frozen beef patties and pre-cut fries to keep costs low, In-N-Out stayed focused on providing a streamlined menu (three types of burger, fries and drinks) made using top-quality produce. Every day, Harry visited markets before dawn to pick up his ingredients, with In-N-Out burger patties formed from beef butchered by hand and fries made from freshly cut potatoes. This commitment to freshness remains, and the brand is firmly against using frozen meat and fries.

Three years after the Snyders launched In-N-Out Burger, the couple opened their second restaurant in Covina, California. By 1954 they felt it was time for a logo redesign, replacing the original white letters on a brown background with an eye-catching yellow boomerang-style arrow with white text on a red background. Inspired by the new logo, restaurant workers adopted the slogans 'The arrow points to pride' and 'We all work under the same arrow'. Meanwhile, expansion continued and, come 1958, there were five In-N-Out restaurants in Southern California.

In 1961, following a customer request, the Animal Style burger was born. So popular was the option, which featured two mustard-cooked beef patties, lettuce, tomato, extra spread and grilled onions, it made its way onto In-N-Out’s now famous ‘Secret Menu’ and remains there today. Other items on that menu include Animal Style fries, Neapolitan milkshakes, a Protein Style burger (a patty wrapped in lettuce instead of served in a bread bun) and the indulgent 4x4, with its four patties and four slices of cheese.

In 1963, following customer requests, In-N-Out launched the Double-Double (consisting of two beef patties with cheese) and subsequently opened a new patty-making facility to keep up with demand – prior to this, Esther had used a manual press to make the burger patties. The Double-Double remains a staple on the stripped-back menu today, sitting alongside a standard hamburger and a cheeseburger. Each is served with fresh tomato, lettuce and onion.

Drag race fan Harry invested in the Irwindale Speedway in 1965 and set his sons Rich and Guy up selling In-N-Out burgers at a concession stand. This canny business move saw race fans spreading the word about the delicious burgers they’d sampled at the raceway across the country. The family also developed a lifelong interest in drag racing, which soon featured in In-N-Out advertisement designs, restaurant artwork and across lucrative merchandise.

Harry started a tradition of planting crossed palm trees outside the front of In-N-Out locations in 1972, after taking inspiration from the film It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. In the movie, characters race to find treasure buried under palm trees planted to resemble a ‘W’, and Harry said that In-N-Out was his treasure. It’s a tradition that remains in place to this day.

In 1974, the colour of the aprons worn by In-N-Out staff changed from white to red. The easily recognisable dress code also included a paper hat featuring the famous arrow and palm trees for male employees (female employees and those that identify as female sport red and white baseball caps). Customers can request a free hat at any In-N-Out location; in fact, have you even been to In-N-Out if you haven’t had a photo taken wearing a paper hat?

As well as getting their hands on one of those iconic paper hats, In-N-Out fans can invest in a selection of memorabilia, from branded folding beach chairs to charm bracelets. The company's collectable T-shirts launched in 1975, with the first one designed by Harry himself and featuring a cartoon fryman. In 1984, In-N-Out started the tradition of launching a different design each year; 2023’s black T-shirt featured a print of the first drive-thru and a drag race car on a brick wall background.

Shakes made from real ice cream launched on In-N-Out’s official menu in 1975. For the previous decade, malts had only been available at select locations and were prepared in each individual serving cup, requiring a great deal of skill on the part of staff members who had to try not to rip the paper beakers as they made the drinks. 

Harry passed away in 1976 after a battle with lung cancer, handing over his burger empire of 18 restaurants to his sons (Rich, pictured on the left, and Guy, right). In-N-Out remains a family business with no franchises or investors. Esther and Harry's granddaughter, Lynsi Snyder, is the current owner and president of the company.

In 1979, In-N-Out’s 21st restaurant opening in Ontario became the first with a dining room, giving customers the choice to eat in the restaurant or use the drive-thru lane. Branch number 32, in Placentia, opened in 1984 and was the first In-N-Out dine-in restaurant without a drive-thru.

Esther and son Rich launched the In-N-Out Burger Foundation in 1984, to help raise money for children in need. Over the years the foundation’s charity work expanded, including a Feed the Homeless initiative in 1990 and 2016’s launch of the Slave To Nothing Foundation, supporting families affected by substance abuse and human trafficking.

Wanting to express his Christian faith, Rich introduced the idea of having bible scriptures printed on In-N-Out packaging in the late Eighties and early Nineties, notably on soda and milkshake cups and Double-Double wrappers. When Lynsi took over as president, she increased the number of products bearing bible verses to include fry boat containers and coffee and hot cocoa cups.

In-N-Out launched its first branch outside of California in 1992. Restaurant number 80 opened its doors in Las Vegas, Nevada to much fanfare and excitement. The move was a successful one, and there are now close to 20 In-N-Out restaurants in Las Vegas alone.

In 2000, In-N-Out arrived in Arizona, with the launch of the chain’s 143rd burger bar. The first Utah location opened its doors eight years later, taking the total number of branches across all four states to 215. As of August 2023, there were 387 In-N-Out restaurants across seven states including Colorado, Texas, Utah and Oregon. A warehouse and patty-making facility has also opened in Colorado to ensure the company’s commitment to freshness remains.

In 2004, food blogger Will Young pushed In-N-Out’s Secret Menu ethos of honouring all requests to its limits by ordering a 100x100 from one of the Las Vegas branches. While staff prepared the order – a Double-Double with 98 extra patties and 98 additional slices of cheese – and charged him $97.66 (£80.30) for doing so, the 4x4 is now the largest burger available. 

In 2014 the Snyder family opened an exact replica of the first In-N-Out restaurant in its original location in Baldwin Park, as a reminder of where Harry and Esther’s dream began. Fans can visit the burger stand to view historical memorabilia and find out more about the In-N-Out journey.

Hot cocoa served with fluffy marshmallows made a welcome reappearance on the In-N-Out menu in 2015, having previously been served at the burger bars during the 1950s. The cocoa used comes from the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, and In-N-Out branches treat under-12s and eligible adults to a free hot cocoa on rainy days.

In-N-Out mania spread to the UK in 2016 when a pop-up landed in the small northwest London suburb of Swiss Cottage. Fast food fans queued for up to five hours with some offering to pay £100 for an In-N-Out wristband guaranteeing them a burger. 

In March 2018, an In-N-Out pop-up restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, sold out of 300 burgers in 30 minutes, despite news of its opening only being released two hours prior. Similar success had previously been seen in Perth and Sydney, but the family firm says there are no plans to expand to Oz.

Hamburger hysteria also hit Germany in 2022, when In-N-Out hosted a pop-up in a Berlin hotel. Doors opened at midday, and by 12.30pm people were queuing up around the block. To the dismay of European fans, once again In-N-Out confirmed there were no plans to expand overseas.

While these pop-ups cause a frenzy, the smart marketeers at In-N-Out aren’t (sadly, for global fans) scoping out new branch locations – they’re simply keeping the cult status of the brand alive. In-N-Out has trademarked its name across the world, and regular activity abroad ensures it can stop other businesses opening with a similar name and concept. It’s also a great way to make sure In-N-Out is at the top of every tourist’s must-visit list.

While fans based outside of the US continue to dream about the chain opening up somewhere near them, we can all look forward to learning more about the fast food brand with the launch of Lynsi’s upcoming book. The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California’s First Drive-Through and How it Became a Beloved Cultural Icon is published in October 2023, to tie in with the company’s 75th anniversary celebrations. In it, Lynsi promises to ‘share the whole truth’ about the famously secretive company – including revealing where exactly the name Animal Style came from.

Those burgers will be available a little further afield in the not-too-distant future, though. In January 2023, In-N-Out confirmed it would be expanding into Franklin, Tennessee – its first location east of the Mississippi. The company plans to launch the new location by 2026, and will be building an Eastern territory office to ensure the commitment to freshness and quality continues.

Now discover the incredible history of the hamburger – and who really invented it