In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out Burger is a regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations in five western states in United States. Founded in 1948 by Harry Snyder and his wife Esther, establishing the first In-N-Out burger in Baldwin Park, California, and headquartered in Irvine, In-N-Out Burger has slowly expanded outside Southern California into the rest of the state as well as into Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas. The current owner is Lynsi Torres, the only grandchild of founders Harry and Esther Snyder. As of February 2013, In-N-Out employed 18,000 and had 281 locations with no location more than one day's drive from a regional distribution center. As the chain has expanded, it has opened several distribution centers in addition to its original Baldwin Park location. Located in Phoenix, Arizona; Draper, Utah; and Dallas, Texas; these new distribution centers will provide for potential future expansion into other parts of the country. In-N-Out Burger has resisted franchising its operations or going public; one reason is the prospect of quality or customer consistency being compromised by excessively rapid business growth. The company's business practices have been noted for employee-centered personnel policies. For example, In-N-Out is one of the few fast food chains in the United States to pay its employees significantly more than state and federally mandated minimum wage guidelines – starting at US $10.50 per hour in California, as of April 2013. The In-N-Out restaurant chain has developed a highly loyal customer base, and has been rated as one of the top fast food restaurants in several customer satisfaction surveys.