If you want a perfect American Burger cooked to perfection every time, you know exactly where to go. In-N-Out is one of the famous burger chains on the west coast of the United States. From the moment it is open until it is closed, each chain restaurant is always packed with customers looking to get a cheap burger that satisfies their stomach and soul. And their popularity knows no bounds. No matter what social media app or site you are on, Instagram, Facebook, Tik-Tok, or Snapchat, people post pictures of their burgers and fries. A chain this popular must have some interesting facts and history behind it, so let’s learn all about In-N-Out today!
Table of Contents
1. The East Coast really wants the franchise to expand in their region
Every few years, someone on Facebook or another social media platform spreads the rumor that In-N-Out is soon coming to Boston, Philadelphia, or even New York City. And thousands of people fall for this lie every time. They cheer, jump in excitement, and ready their wallets to learn a day later that it was all a hoax. Then they fall into a deep depression and must go to inferior burger chains to eat their feelings.
And in the next six months to a year, there will be yet another rumor of In-N-Out coming to the East Coast. However, although In-N-Out would like to expand its franchises into the east coast and Midwest, several obstacles keep them from doing so. One major block is the logistics of shipping the potatoes for their fries and the beef for their burgers. Their supply chains are not as vast as McDonald’s or Burger King, and establishing new supply lines to the other side of the country is quite difficult. Fast food chains want all of their food to taste the same no matter where their restaurant is located. But if they ship to other parts of the country, In-N-Out will have to change the way they send their supplies, which would change their food flavor.
2. In-N-Out prints Bible verses on the bottom of their disposable cups
If you are a practicing Christian or have a strong eye for detail, you probably already knew this fact. The In-N-Out restaurant chain has been printing Bible verses on the bottom of their cups and specific wrappers for their burgers since they started printing their designs.
Most people don’t notice it because they don’t print out the entire verse with the text. They usually just print out the Bible book and the chapter and verse number. So the next time you are eating In-N-Out with someone, tell them this fact and see if they know it too!
3. Move over McDonald’s! In-N-Out was California’s first-ever drive-through restaurant
The average person thinks that McDonald’s was the first drive-through ever globally since it is the first fast food place they think of when someone says the words drive through or fast food. But that is not true. The first drive-through award in the world goes to Red’s Giant Hamburg in Missouri, created in 1947.
However, the first drive-through for California was an In-N-Out drive-through, which was also the first In-N-Out ever. The small restaurant was located at Francisquito and Garvey in Baldwin Park(which is so close to where I live). This location was an absolute success, and Harry Synder went on to open dozens of other In-N-Out stands and restaurants in the coming decade.
4. There is a secret menu
Well, the secret menu isn’t much of a secret anymore. Almost everybody who has been to In-N-Out more than once knows at least one item that you can request off the secret menu. But it’s not that the items are secrets and kept away from the public. It’s just that In-N-Out chooses not to create brand new menu printouts for their in dining menus and their drive-thru menus. I believe it would cost far too much money to replace all of those menus, so the secret menu is passed down by word of mouth instead.
Extras
Along with the secret menu, In-N-Out also has a few different ways to customize your order with small extras:
- Toasted buns
- Yellow chilis
- Grilled onions
- Neapolitan milkshake
- Cheese fries
- Protein style – no buns, just a lettuce wrap
There are even vegan and vegetarian burger options.
If you order the grilled cheese, you will receive a double-double style burger, except there is no meat. And vegans should ask for the veggie burger. They will receive the grilled cheese, except it will not have any cheese on it. It also will not have the In-N-Out signature sauce because the sauce contains eggs.
If you are a vegan and are concerned about milk ingredients in the hamburger bun, you don’t have to worry. The In-N-Out hamburger bun is only made with flour, water, shortening, and a few preservatives.
5. They have a fun little rivalry with Shake shack
Restaurants and food rivalries are not unheard of in the customer service industry. Like McDonald’s and Burger King or Coke versus Pepsi, In-N-Out has a rivalry with Shake Shack. Because both fast-food restaurants specializing in burgers and fries, they are often compared to consumers. If you search comparisons on YouTube, there are hundreds of videos where the YouTuber purchases burgers and fries from each establishment and review them against each other. But recently, Five Guys is starting the wage a little burger of their own. In-N-Out may have rivalries on all sides, but they can handle themselves. The explosion of new higher-quality fast-food chains has not put a dent in their profits in any way.
6. All of their employees are paid a fair wage
Working at a fast-food restaurant will make you rich. Nearly every person who works for McDonald’s, Del Taco, Taco Bell, Burger King, and any other fast-food restaurant makes minimum wage. But that’s not how In-N-Out compensate their employees. For a decade, In-N-Out has hey there in place fires in the minimum wage. Even their cooks and janitors are paid well. Because of the generous hourly wages, they have one of the lowest employee turnover rates. It just goes to show the industry that if you treat your employees with respect and value their time and their bank accounts, they will be just as loyal to you. Maybe it’s about time other fast-food restaurants figure that out as well.
7. In-N-Out has a complete fashion line
Many people look down on buying clothing from a specific brand, especially if their clothes have the company’s massive logo in the middle of their t-shirt or on the side of their pant leg. It seems like someone is just a walking advertisement for that company. But they don’t feel that way about the In-N-Out clothing line. Each item of clothing has a small In-N-Out logo somewhere on the side of the shirt or on the sweatpant. Their logos aren’t prominent, so it doesn’t look like In-N-Out is paying them to wear their clothing as an advertisement. The In-N-Out clothing line has t-shirts, sweaters, baseball caps, sweatpants, socks, and even business ties!
To visit the official store, go to https://shop.in-n-out.com.
8. A person cannot own an In-N-Out franchise
All stores and restaurants are owned entirely by the company. The Current CEO of In-N-Out decided to reject franchising because she is dedicated to high standards. When a person has a fast-food restaurant franchise, they can operate it differently than how another franchiser does. You have ever experienced different standards from the same food chain; this is the biggest reason why. The franchise owner may have lower standards than other owners, showing in their customer service and food quality.
Conclusion
For the past 50 years, In-N-Out has found its way into millions of Californians’ hearts, and they have built a send application for themselves that sauces countries and oceans. Many fans of In-N-Out, whether they are from California or from another state or country, regularly say that when they enter back into California, they visit the moment they leave the airport is In-N-Out. A fast-food restaurant can’t replicate that level of customer loyalty with low-quality foods or poor customer service. As long as In-N-Out continues to provide high quality and simple meals are incredibly affordable prices, there’s no reason why they should not be in business 20 years from now.
They’re also trying to keep up with the current eating climate of today. In-N-Out is considering adding a vegan meat substitute for all the people who don’t eat meat or eat beef. But no matter what In-N-Out does, as long as they stick to the business model that helped them build their much-beloved brand, they should be just fine, no matter what the world or the economy throws at them.
