In-N-Out Burgers Inc. heiress Lynsi Martinez has quietly stepped into the role of president at the Irvine-based burger chain.
The 28-year-old company heir has kept a low profile at In-N-Out, which sees yearly sales of $465 million. Now, as president, she’s set to oversee the chain’s biggest expansion yet with a move into Texas.
The move is an aggressive one for the regional fast food favorite, which up to now only has opened restaurants within 500 miles of its Baldwin Park processing center and warehouse.
Restaurant expansions are “kind of like an investment portfolio,” said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based restaurant consulting firm Technomic Inc. “You have to be very diverse to get a good return. They are going to do better if they don’t have all their eggs in the California basket.”
In-N-Out plans to open a restaurant as well as a processing and distribution center near Dallas, according to Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development for the burger chain.
The move into Texas also marks the first big move under Martinez, who took the reins at the family-owned company in January.
Martinez, who owns a third of the company, is expected to take full ownership on her 35th birthday.
She took over the president’s role from Mark Taylor, who had served as president since cofounder Esther Snyder died in 2006.
Taylor, husband of Martinez’s half-sister and former vice president of operations, now is the chief operating officer.
The move likely makes Martinez the youngest executive overseeing a major company here.
It also cements her as one of the top women executives in Orange County.
Martinez, who is known for avoiding the media, couldn’t be reached for comment. A company spokeswoman confirmed Martinez has taken on the president’s role.
Company watchers figure the Texas expansion had been planned for some time, with Martinez signing off on the move.
“The expansion probably has long been in the works,” Tristano said. “We’re just now starting to see some signs that this business is thinking about going national.”
In-N-Out, which has a majority of its restaurants in California, appears to be hedging its bets on Texas.
Besides California, In-N-Out has restaurants in Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
Other burger chains, such as San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., have seen growth by expanding beyond California, especially in the Lone Star State.
“Jack in the Box moved into Texas and now has more restaurants there than it does in California,” Tristano said. “Moving outside California isn’t a bad move as there are a number of states that are doing better economically.”
Texas Plans
Plans for the Dallas-area facility still are in the works with few early details from In-N-Out, known for keeping things close to the vest.
Other restaurants in Texas and neighboring states could follow.
Van Fleet declined to comment on plans beyond an initial restaurant in Garland, Texas, about 20 miles outside Dallas.
The company is building a processing center and warehouse to support the Texas restaurant—which could signal more locations to come.
Using the 500-mile rule applied to In-N-Out’s Baldwin Park warehouse, In-N-Outs could open across Texas as well as in New Mexico, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
In recent years, In-N-Out—which runs 247 company-owned restaurants—has upped its expansion plans from a couple of stores a year to about 10 annually.
Market watchers see the ramp up in expansion as the only way for In-N-Out to remain relevant and compete with similar restaurants that offer a limited menu and quality ingredients, including Virginia-based Five Guys Inc.
“The reality is if they are not as aggressive and (don’t) grow their brand they may lose out on some great opportunities because Five Guys Burgers is just taking over,” Tristano said. “I believe that a big part of Five Guys’ success has a lot to do with In-N-Out’s lack of franchising and growth initiative.”
Five Guys Burgers & Fries, a favorite on the East Coast, recently opened a restaurant in Cerritos and is planning locations in OC this summer.
In-N-Out Founders
In-N-Out has been steadily growing since it was founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder in Baldwin Park.
Harry Snyder died of cancer in 1976. Management then fell to son Richard Snyder, who expanded In-N-Out to nearly 100 restaurants. He died in a plane crash near John Wayne Airport in 1993.
Eldest son H. Guy Snyder took over and further expanded, including to Arizona and Nevada. He died in 1999 from an overdose of painkillers.
That left an aging Esther Snyder to run the company up until her death in 2006. Her granddaughter, Martinez, is the only child of the Snyder brothers.
