In-N-Out Might Be Coming To These Three States For The First Time

I think it’s fair to say that In-N-Out Burger has a reputation that outpaces its actual availability. What I mean by this is that this iconic, well-known, immediately recognizable chain is tiny when compared to the likes of McDonald’s, Burger King, or Chick-fil-A, and as of right now, it only operates in 10 states in the West, Southwest, and South. This has always been by design: In-N-Out’s whole thing is to keep things simple and growth intentionally slow (as well as to not offer delivery, although there’s a way around that), so as not to diminish quality. 

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Recently, though, In-N-Out owner and president Lynsi Snyder suggested some moves might be made. Some moves into three new states. If you live in one of these places, you could soon be in luck.

In-N-Out’s (Potential) Expansion

Snyder recently sat down to a long-form interview with actor Terry Crews for In-N-Out’s 78th anniversary to discuss the restaurant’s past, present, and future. Now, we should all take a beat here to acknowledge the slightly left-field nature of the White Chicks actor conducting this interview – but as Crews explains, he’s a long-time fan of In-N-Out, with his relationship with the chain going right back to the early ‘90s, when he tried his first Double-Double. So if he can’t steward things, then honestly, we don’t know who would be better. 

During the interview, Snyder and Crews discussed In-N-Out’s plans going forward, and Snyder stated that a couple of states were in the business’s sights for potential expansion: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. While no new restaurants are confirmed just yet, it’s a fairly strong signal that if In-N-Out is going to enter new markets, these ones will be cued up to receive them first. 

Making Moves

In-N-Out’s ability to expand into Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma has potentially been enabled and hastened by the recent opening of its new corporate headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. It also has a warehouse in Texas, which makes its policy of only using fresh food more workable in the above states. Snyder did make it clear, though, that In-N-Out wasn’t about to pop up in every other state in the country; things are going to stay slow and steady, so it can control its output. 

Given the care with which Snyder discussed its future plans, I think this is very much a case of “hope for the best, but don’t expect too much right now.” Regardless, this interview has caused a lot of buzz – and In-N-Out’s strategy of arguably applying constraints to its own business is a very smart one. Limits create demand and sustain quality. Demand keeps people intrigued, and quality keeps people happy. In a world where everyone’s trying to give us more, it turns out giving us less might be the way forward.