Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger Inc. is making a move into Texas in what’s the biggest expansion yet for the company.
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.
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.
“Garland is, in fact, one of the locations that we are currently working on,” he said. “While we are very enthusiastic about the opportunities there, our Dallas-area plans are still in the early stages.”
The move marks a big expansion for In-N-Out, which has estimated yearly sales of $465 million.
Up to now, the burger chain, which has a cult-like following, only has opened restaurants within 500 miles of its sole distribution center in Baldwin Park. There, butchers mix a proprietary blend of ground beef from local suppliers into patties that are sent to restaurants every other day.
Besides California, In-N-Out has restaurants in Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
The company has stayed close to home, allowing it to keep its patties and fries unfrozen, something In-N-Out contends is key to the quality of its food.
In-N-Out, which runs 247 company-owned restaurants, has had requests—all rebuffed—from developers and celebrities to open in other markets.
New Distribution Centers
The Texas expansion is a bid to replicate In-N-Out’s hub-and-spoke strategy in a new region.
“It is far enough away that we will have to open a new (distribution center),” Van Fleet said.
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.
The plant could support at least a “few restaurant sites,” Van Fleet said.
Using the 500-mile rule applied to its Baldwin Park facility, In-N-Outs could open across Texas as well as in New Mexico, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
An opening date for the Garland restaurant hasn’t been set, according to Van Fleet.
Expansion
The chain opened several restaurants in 2009, including four in Utah, where it began expanding in 2008. More restaurants are planned for Utah, according to the company.
In-N-Out in recent years has upped its expansion plans from a couple of stores a year to about 10 annually.
Founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, In-N-Out opened its first restaurant in Baldwin Park, which is home to a company museum, university and some executive offices.
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 Lynsi Martinez, the only child of the Snyder brothers, now controls In-N-Out through trusts left to her.
Mark Taylor, husband of Esther Snyder’s half-sister and former vice president of operations, serves as president, running In-N-Out in consultation with Martinez.
