Ep 1219 ｜ After 77 Years, In-N-Out Offices Are Moving to Tennessee. Here's Why ｜ Lynsi Snyder
Episode Stats
Length
1 hour and 8 minutes
Words per Minute
161.65771
Summary
Lindsay Snyder is the President of In-N-Out and the granddaughter of the founders of the fast food chain. She has an incredible testimony and is so passionate about serving God and glorifying Him in everything she and the company do. We are going to talk about her bravery as a leader of the company and what the company s plans are for expanding beyond the west and into the central part of the United States.
Transcript
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She is the granddaughter of the founders of the fast food chain.
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She has an incredible testimony and is so passionate about serving God and glorifying
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We are going to talk about her bravery as a leader of the company and what the company's
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plans are for expanding beyond the West and the central part of the United States.
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I think that you are going to love hearing what the Lord has done in her life and how
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the Lord is working through this amazing company.
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This episode is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.
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Okay, before we get into that conversation, just a reminder to my relatable audience,
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if you will please take part in this survey that we have put together to get to know you
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even better, to know what you want, what you're looking for, who you are, what your beliefs
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It just helps us tailor this show in a way that adds the most value possible to your lives.
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I'm very thankful for all of you and I want to continue making this show as good as it
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We will link the survey in the description of this episode wherever you are watching
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Lindsay, thanks so much for joining me or for hosting me in your amazing office.
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Can I first talk about your outfit, which I'm obsessed with?
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And I want to know if this is your, is this your daily work uniform?
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I mean, I don't have a uniform, but this is kind of my style, which I'd say doesn't stick
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I'm honored because I don't know if everyone can see that you have hamburgers on your socks
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There are so many things that I want to ask you and so many people listening, watching
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What was it like growing up in this dynasty, in this business of In-N-Out?
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Well, you know, some of my earliest memories being exposed to In-N-Out were in this office.
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And, you know, for me, he was just this magical uncle.
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He had a larger than life personality and just seemed to make things happen.
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Um, and my dad, um, was the two of them were both just like big kids.
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Like you could tell there were things from their childhood that they didn't have.
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And so they were trying to still make some of those childhood dreams come true.
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And they lived through me by like giving me some of those things and spoiling me.
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Do you remember anything specifically, like any kind of adventure or treat?
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Yeah, my uncle took me to Disneyland a lot and he loved that.
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And, um, they would buy me like, um, something with wheels or a motor just about every Christmas.
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So when I saw the old family videos, they were just like, what do you think?
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It's like they were getting the gift themselves.
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So is that the beginning of that, do you think?
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So I was there at the track as a little girl and, you know, just thought it was super cool
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and loved watching him and just being around all of that, the culture of the cars.
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So, um, so yeah, I think, you know, they both, my uncle and my dad loved classic cars and American muscle cars.
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So, um, that was just something I was raised around and, and grew very fond of.
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Um, but for me, you know, as a kid, I didn't really understand the magnitude of, you know, the business or anything like that.
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And of course, we were much smaller then, but still.
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Um, it was just the people for me, you know, and, um, there's people that still work for In-N-Out, you know, today that were around when I was a kid.
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How did that, like, you say that they're fun loving, but they're basically like big kids.
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How did that shape the culture at In-N-Out when they were leading the way?
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Because obviously they were very smart businessmen as well, very serious about the business, but then they had this super adventurous, fun loving side.
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I think, you know, a lot of people that work in In-N-Out say it's not like a job.
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And, you know, some of my fondest memories were the days I worked in the stores with people because it was just like this team.
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And you're smiling and you're just, I don't know.
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And I think them having the personalities that they did helped create that atmosphere here where people are, you know, you can have fun working.
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And, you know, we say that the smile is part of your uniform here at In-N-Out.
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So, you know, we know with psychology, you know, the power of a smile in a room, it's contagious.
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And you mentioned a lot of the things that they wanted to give you and fill your life with, they didn't really have growing up.
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Obviously, their parents founded In-N-Out, but it was very different when it was first starting, I'm sure.
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And, you know, my grandpa came from very humble beginnings.
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And, you know, I think he really projected that you're not going to amount to anything type of you own my grandfather.
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And my grandfather really, you know, broke through that.
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So his success wasn't just founding In-N-Out, but really breaking that cycle.
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And, you know, he was severely abused by his father.
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And then my grandpa even abused my dad and my uncle.
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I don't think it wasn't at the same level, but it was definitely child abuse.
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I think, you know, my dad and my uncle were maybe neglected a little bit.
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They looked up to him, but he was a workaholic.
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You know, he was doing this, you know, the work, laying all the foundation for where we are now here at In-N-Out.
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And, you know, my grandmother was very sweet and soft-spoken, and she had her faith.
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But, you know, I think they loved her to pieces.
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And I think they wanted – my dad really wanted his dad's acceptance, and I don't think he ever felt that.
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So the combination of them not having things, having a dad that was, you know, pretty hard on them and all that.
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You know, I think they loved having that healthy family life when I was born and having my mom.
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And my uncle didn't have any kids, so I was basically like this.
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Were you ever intimidated by the prospect of leading the company, even though you'd been around it forever?
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I don't think I was intimidated because it was, because of the process.
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You know, I was working for the company when I was 17.
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I was down here, I moved down here when I was 18, worked for my grandma actually doing donations.
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And I would call to ask for donations for, you know, one of our events.
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And so there was just a very natural development of then I managed the company store with all of our merchandise for a couple of years.
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That was like a little business within the big business.
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Um, and then started going to the operation meetings, VP meetings, was helping make big decisions.
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Um, so I'd say the moments where I felt like I had to really speak up or, you know, um, push to be heard would be in the VP meetings back in the day.
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And that's something where, um, they spun that in an interview.
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Um, and I was so upset because they used it in the wrong context.
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Sitting in a room with older business corporate looking men.
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So I did not really fit in that room in a lot of ways.
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And so when I had a disagreement, um, with them, which was usually about raising prices, yes.
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Okay, so you have added two Bible verses to the packaging since you have been president, right?
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Um, so we added it to the bottom of the fry boat, the water cup, the coffee, the hot cocoa.
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Do you know off the top of your head what the other ones are?
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Um, the water cup is, ooh, I'm trying to think of the reference.
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It's the one about, um, giving a cup to even one of these, you know.
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Coffee cups is, oh, Luke 6, 35, one of my favorites about loving your enemies.
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Um, Isaiah 9, 6, about Jesus being born, the prophecy of Jesus.
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Um, and then our other little water cups, our nines are Isaiah 53, prophecy of Jesus again.
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There's some other things that we added them to.
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Have you ever had people, like, upset by the Bible verses?
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Honestly, I don't pay attention to too much of it.
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Like, it's just been, you know, we even had customers upset about, um, our Slave to Nothing, uh, stuff, you know, like having the, the cans or some of the imagery.
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And that has to do with addiction and helping people who have been stuck in that.
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And I wonder why, why would anyone have any kind of issue with that?
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Well, it's, it is interesting, but I think, you know, if someone's, the Bible verse is something that is, you know, meaningful to my family and our faith.
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And my uncle was like, this is a declaration, like, we're a family business and this is just part of us, you know?
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And, uh, you know, no one's being forced to, um, you know, hey, now you have to follow the Ten Commandments and then you can have a burger.
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So, I think that, um, a lot of times there's going to be persecution and that's okay because it's expected, you know?
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It's laid out in our instruction manual that, you know, it's actually a good sign if you're persecuted.
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So, you know, people not wanting to hear about fighting addiction or trafficking, you just have to look what's behind it.
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I think it's in Luke 6 where it says, woe to you when all people speak well of you.
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That woe to you when everyone has something nice to say to you all of the time or about you all the time.
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On the other hand, on the other side of that, have you heard any stories of people who have seen the Bible verse, looked it up, and then started reading the Bible or changed their mind about something or have just been encouraged by it?
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I've heard a few, and I've heard mainly it was like a launching point for a really nice discussion where someone was wanting to witness to someone or wanting to share their faith and different things in that conversation, and they were able to use it.
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And I mean, you're never going to know until you get to heaven, you know, all of the lives that were touched by the Word of God.
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And I just love that the Word of God doesn't return void.
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So the most effective thing that we can always do is share a Bible verse because it's the only infallible, inerrant thing that we can tell someone.
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You have no idea like how many people it's affected, I'm sure.
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And for like those of us who are Christians, seeing something like that, it's like, I don't know, it just feels like solidarity.
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I want to hear more about your grandmother, about Esther.
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She stayed involved in the day-to-day operations until she died in 2006, I think.
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So what an amazing legacy and an amazing person.
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And all around this office, you see pictures of her, rooms dedicated to her.
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She was from Illinois and had one Irish parent and one English.
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And she actually had a pretty tough story, too.
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She had quite a few siblings and she was sick as a child and they were worried about her getting the other kids sick.
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So they took her to her grandparents and they basically never came back for her.
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Like she ended up staying with her grandparents and being raised by them.
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So she had to like push her everywhere and help take care of her.
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And I'm sure wondering like why did my parents not choose me and, you know, all my other siblings are together.
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So she – I think there was a lot of like self-denial and just kind of survive on my own strength that she had.
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She joined the waves in the Navy and she was a go-getter for sure.
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And there's not too many people that make me feel tall in this world and she was one of them because she was shorter than me.
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My grandmother was the same way and she seemed to get smaller and smaller every time I saw her.
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I think by the time she died she was like 4'11 or something like that.
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So, yeah, she always was like – and so, I mean, just so sweet.
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I love when so much personality is packed into like such a small package and so much strength too.
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And she was, you know, a lot of the brains behind, you know, the operation of, you know, just the book, all the book stuff, the financial stuff.
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Was it just through experience that she learned everything?
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She went to college, so she had a pretty good education and, you know, she wanted to be a teacher.
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It was fascinating when I found out she studied zoology.
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Because I'm like that makes so much sense because my daughter and I both love animals.
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It was just a few years before my uncle passed away, actually.
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He did that and that was just a thing of, you know, he totally found Jesus and just wanted to have that there.
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Yeah, I want to hear more about that before we get into your faith journey because you mentioned that your grandfather maybe didn't have as much, like, of an outspoken faith, but your grandmother did.
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Um, my grandpa, I don't really know what his parents were like exactly.
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Um, they did come from the Netherlands and, um, I'm assuming that he grew up on a house without any faith.
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My grandma was raised in the church and, um, she had her faith and, um, yeah, I think that's, that was a lot of her strength and she just had so much love and care for people that I think came from God's love, you know.
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Um, my dad, um, he really found that, um, I think in marrying my mom.
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Um, of course he had his mother that modeled it too, but I think when he met my mom and just kind of brought it together for him and, and then my uncle, um, I don't remember how exactly he got connected, but he started going to Chuck Smith's church in Costa Mesa and, um, that was where he just really dedicated his life to the Lord.
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And, and so, so yeah, they all look a little bit different, but I'm happy to know that they all knew Jesus.
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And I'm sure it was a very formative time in your life and you've written about this when your uncle passed, correct?
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And can you talk about just the effect that that had both on your family and on the company?
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You know, it's, it's really a night that changed our lives.
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And, um, for my dad, you know, I look back and see just how terrible it was.
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You know, he already didn't have, he never got the acceptance from his dad.
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So he had, he had this childhood pain and trauma then as adult, not having that from his dad.
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And then his brother was really the only one that knew what it was like, you know, and they
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So losing him, um, I think just felt like a part of his heart got ripped out.
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Um, so I remember my dad going outside and just yelling his brother's name, like to the sky and, um, yeah.
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Uh, you know, my dad had been sober and things were pretty, pretty nice.
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So we were living up in Northern California and, um, and that was just the beginning of
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things starting to fall apart between, you know, his sobriety, my mom and dad and, uh, my stability,
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And not only did you persevere through all of that because so much to happen at such a
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young age, so close together, but also in and out persisted through all of that.
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So before we get to the time where, cause you've talked about, like, I think you called
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So we can talk about the instability that you just referenced, but can you walk us through,
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like, how did your family carry in and out through such a turbulent time of not even
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knowing kind of like what the leadership and direction looks like anymore?
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Yeah, it's, it is pretty crazy because, um, internet has weathered a lot of so much.
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Um, and then there's, yeah, I mean, beating the odds of the third generation thing, you
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So it's just, to me, it's very clear the hand of God is on this company.
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Is that something that people say, like, by the time you get to the third generation,
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it's just not likely for it to persist after that?
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Because they assume, like, the grandkids just don't feel as connected to the founding mission
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There's probably several factors, but, I mean, I think you can look, look it up and find that
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it's an overwhelming statistic that it falls apart by that time.
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Um, we have amazing people here, you know, we've had incredible leaders.
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And again, the tenure is just, you know, you don't see a lot of places that have so many
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So that's why we say it's an in and out family because, you know, once you're here, a lot
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So, um, it's just been a combination of God having his hand on our company and protecting
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And also the incredible people that have just come together and rallied and, you know, stepped
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in when these different, you know, tragedies happened.
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That might sound weird because you're thinking every diaper company should be pro-life.
00:24:49.340
Unfortunately, a lot of the major diaper companies are donating your dollars directly to pro-abortion
00:25:00.180
That's not where we want our hard-earned dollars to go.
00:25:02.820
You want your dollars to go towards companies and organizations that are promoting life.
00:25:08.220
Thereby for a Cause bundle that you can purchase online, sends resources to pro-life organizations
00:25:14.720
and pregnancy centers that are actually helping pregnant women in crisis, providing them
00:25:19.220
with what they need so that they can choose life.
00:25:22.060
Plus, they are always supporting their pregnant and adopting employees, making sure they have
00:25:26.340
the support that they need to be abundant and to be fruitful and multiply.
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And the best part is, one of the best parts, maybe the second best part, is that their products
00:25:38.420
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00:25:55.340
Before we get into the rest of the episode, just want to remind you about Share the Arrows
00:26:01.880
It's October 11th, outside of Dallas, Texas, over 4,000 women.
00:26:05.960
I don't even know how many women are going to be there, but it's going to be more than
00:26:12.760
The Bible teaching is going to be challenging and deep.
00:26:18.700
The worship is going to be powerful, all by the grace of God.
00:26:22.720
Get your ticket if you are a Christian woman, or even if you're a non-believing woman and
00:26:26.140
you want to learn more about the Word of God and you want to meet Christian women, come
00:26:37.720
I want to hear about this season for you personally, because you've written very openly about your
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past relationships and the difficult time that you went through before you were 35 and
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So I want to hear like your personal faith journey from the dark times to the times that
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After my dad passed, I was in a relationship that started when I was 14.
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And so I really knew, like, I felt like God told me, like, this is not right.
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And it was something that I think I would have, I think I would have called off our engagement
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And as soon as he died, it was like, I just latched, I latched on, you know.
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Um, and I'd say that relationship looked pretty codependent.
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Um, and, you know, it wasn't, um, super healthy.
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And then he started having all sorts of, um, kind of just breakdowns.
00:28:06.960
And he went on, like, medication and was sharing that he was having, um, you know, just, it's
00:28:19.920
pretty, I mean, how honest do you want me to be on here?
00:28:24.800
It's totally up to you, whatever you're comfortable with, because, you know, other people have
00:28:29.660
gone through or will go through similar things.
00:28:34.960
He, um, started having panic attacks and everything because of the guilt and started admitting
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little by little, oh, yeah, I'm addicted to porn.
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And, um, you know, I've done this thinking about your, this person, that person, that person.
00:28:52.060
And I'm just like, and you're like, what, 18, 19 at this point, how do you even process?
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So you feel like, oh my goodness, what have I done?
00:29:01.760
Well, it's like, you know, at that point when I told God, like, oh, well, I'm doing it anyway.
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And so when he told me those things, it's like all of my eggs just broke in the basket
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thrown, you know, because, um, you know, I really loved him and my heart was just shattered.
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And so, um, at that point, you know, it was just, I don't know, trying to make sense of it all.
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And, and at the same time thinking this whole relationship was a sham, you know, if all of
00:29:42.660
this was happening and, you know, and I was, you know, doing all these things that he would want.
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You know, and, and I didn't understand, you know, the pornography addiction at that stage
00:29:57.920
in my life, you know, um, to know that it wasn't me that was the problem.
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Um, and then from there, you know, I basically broke his heart by, um, intentionally cheating
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on him and, uh, I, I felt like the only way he would let go of me was if I made him mad
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So I went down that road, which is where you referenced my black sheep era.
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Like, I'm just, this is how I'm going to have to do this.
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Do you think that you were trying to numb your pain from losing your uncle and your dad?
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I mean, it could have been multiple things, but I imagine at such a young age, like trying
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to process that and cope with it was probably tough.
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We understand how that can carry into someone's life for, I mean, until the day that I, honestly,
00:31:01.520
some can, you know, they can have those issues and they can come out, um, unless they get
00:31:07.800
Um, but for me, my dad and my uncle like thought the world of me, you know, they loved me.
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And so all I wanted was to have someone that cherished me like them, you know, and, and
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And so when he, you know, broke my heart in that way, I think I just felt like I didn't
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have any of that love anywhere because I'd basically drifted from God a little bit by
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pursuing, you know, marrying him outside of maybe what God wanted for me.
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And then of course, you know, I went into the other relationship, which is, um, one that,
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you know, I can't go back and forth and say, well, I regret it because I have two beautiful
00:32:02.460
So your first, your first kids were twins, boy and a girl.
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I bet that was an amazing moment when you got that first sonogram and you were like,
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Like it's one thing when it's like your second or third pregnancy.
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I just can't imagine for your first, you're like, excuse me.
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I went to the appointment alone because I'm like, Hey, it's just the first one.
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And, um, when she said, Oh, no wonder you're so sick.
00:32:44.600
I had like an immediate wave of heat over my body and they'd offered me crackers and water
00:32:51.920
I'm like, okay, yeah, maybe I'll take the crackers and water.
00:33:01.500
I'm like, mom, why do I always have the hard way?
00:33:10.060
Um, you know, I was horribly sick the whole entire time.
00:33:25.040
I did, this is, I mean, you, this might be like a weird question to you, but we talk about
00:33:33.260
I, um, was hoping I wouldn't have to, but, um, they were breech transverse for a whole
00:33:45.040
I think that's why my ribs are like offset now.
00:33:49.340
I have three kids and even my ribs are like messed up probably forever.
00:34:07.660
Cause there's so many seasons, so many things packed in there.
00:34:10.820
So on one, on one hand it seems long and then I can also remember the day they were
00:34:17.860
So, and going from zero babies to two babies when it came to sleeping and feeding and all
00:34:25.880
I mean, if you can remember back, what was that like?
00:34:31.640
Um, good thing was he was, you know, their dad was hands on at the time and, um, was, you
00:34:38.640
know, helpful and, and then people told me about the, um, the night nurse thing.
00:34:45.720
Oh, she can come in and, you know, you can have someone help out.
00:34:51.900
I think I would do that if I had twins, just someone to give me a little relief.
00:34:58.480
I read a book about, you know, getting them on a schedule and all that.
00:35:02.160
So I'm really glad I did that because I see some people just struggle to have sanity with,
00:35:07.920
um, you know, with twins, cause one's awake, one's asleep, one's, you know, they're back
00:35:16.440
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I think I remember reading in your book and something that you've written that it was
00:36:46.760
kind of in your third, it was in your third marriage in the midst of a lot of turmoil.
00:36:51.040
There was just constant conflict you talked about between you and your husband at the
00:36:54.260
time when you find, when you really felt like, okay, God, I need you.
00:37:02.120
Well, you know, you can see where I'm, like, trying to fill that void with these marriages.
00:37:15.220
Um, so this one didn't work, latched onto this, this one, you know, this one didn't work, latched
00:37:22.940
So I tell people, broken people, pick broken people.
00:37:27.740
And I think that, you know, these weren't necessarily relationships that God had ordained
00:37:34.160
But out of my pain and not wanting to be alone and really searching for that person that was
00:37:40.480
going to love and protect me, like my dad and my uncle, um, was, you know, it was a quest
00:37:49.960
Um, and so that relationship, um, you know, was, it was very tough.
00:37:57.940
I, you know, was not okay with sex outside of marriage.
00:38:03.680
And so, um, I slipped and one time got pregnant.
00:38:11.740
And so my, um, third child, um, was basically, you know, born in a tough, it was a tough situation.
00:38:24.860
And I wanted to marry and thought this is the right thing to do.
00:38:30.120
And, um, so yeah, there was, there was a lot there.
00:38:34.820
We're going into, uh, um, you know, had I not got pregnant, we probably wouldn't have stayed
00:38:42.120
Um, but, um, that was the, the darkest time of my life for sure.
00:38:49.280
Um, and really finding out like, hey, you're just not going to get this.
00:38:54.860
This from a person that love you want that being cherished on it.
00:39:00.240
And I just really turned to God and said, God, you're the only one you're, you're the
00:39:08.740
And I have to be okay with not having this from a person I need to, like, I want to be
00:39:15.380
okay alone because in this marriage right now, I feel alone.
00:39:44.920
Um, 2010 was, um, it was before, you know, a lot of people externally say, okay, once
00:39:53.960
You officially, but that was just the semantics with the trust and all that.
00:39:58.000
I mean, honestly, I was, I became president in 2010.
00:40:01.940
And, um, same year I'm going through, um, divorce, get pregnant during that divorce and
00:40:20.240
I mean, for me to even show up to work and be who I'm supposed to be, um, was tough.
00:40:28.000
There were days that I just couldn't even come in because of the turmoil in the relationship.
00:40:33.140
And, um, you know, turning, getting to that place where I finally, you know, even, even
00:40:40.160
though it wasn't a drug, it's like the term hit bottom.
00:40:42.420
Like I had hit a, a bottom where I just, yeah, I went completely to God.
00:40:48.460
And so, um, I was 30, I feel like I was about 30 when that started to happen with me and
00:41:01.220
And, um, you know, I really tried to stick it out and, um, you know, I've heard you talk
00:41:07.180
about toxic empathy, um, different context, but well, um, I think I was a little bit in
00:41:18.680
Um, and then I started to realize, well, you don't want to give up on people.
00:41:23.940
You want to help people when they don't want help.
00:41:26.860
You are more invested in, you know, the betterment of, of someone's life than them even seeking
00:41:38.380
And so I'm like, yeah, I think I kind of, I kind of am.
00:41:43.260
So I think there's, there's some good in there somewhere, but, um, of course it's not always
00:41:49.220
it's, I mean, empathy by itself isn't bad, right?
00:41:52.220
It's only when it leads you to affirm people's sin or validate lies.
00:41:56.860
And, you know, all of us have kind of like been in those moments.
00:41:59.780
It can't be super like positively powerful and lead you toward healthy love.
00:42:03.740
It can also lead us toward enabling people in an unhealthy way.
00:42:10.720
So, um, I, I guess, um, you know, it was actually a pastor that helped me, um, come to the realization
00:42:21.540
that this was not, this was not God's will for you to be married to like this.
00:42:26.960
I'm like, wait, you've talked about how horrible divorce is.
00:42:30.500
I've basically felt like, you know, that is not an option.
00:42:33.740
And, and I've already been divorced more than once.
00:42:36.020
Like, this is how much worse can it get for me?
00:42:38.540
I can't, how will I ever be able to be in a relationship again if I don't stick this
00:42:44.620
And, um, and I think it was just, you know, the, the infidelity and, and the lack of repentance
00:42:53.120
and, and all of that finally, um, took me to a place where, you know, the pastor said,
00:43:00.060
hey, like, this isn't, you don't have to stay in this, this person's not, uh, stopping.
00:43:05.460
And, um, so I, um, filed, told my attorney I wanted to file for separation and we had
00:43:17.220
Um, but when I called my attorney back to check on the status, he said, yeah, the divorce,
00:43:31.420
And so it was really strange because you don't want to think, oh, did God actually do that?
00:43:39.280
Because he was saying like, this is okay, but, um, I was raised to know that God hates
00:43:45.880
divorce, but then I also found in Proverbs where he also hates lying lips, those who rush
00:43:51.060
into, you know, evil, like all of, you know, all of those other things.
00:43:56.300
He hates, he hates a lot of other things that I was living in.
00:43:58.980
And, um, so yeah, I, I don't know that I would have, um, gone through with it had, um, you
00:44:09.880
know, there not be some, there was some signs and some help for sure from others.
00:44:15.840
And what did kind of like coming into the light and healing and repenting for you look
00:44:21.940
2010, really, really tough year, but obviously things got better both.
00:44:26.640
I mean, and you leading the company, but also you personally.
00:44:32.840
Um, there was a lot of guilt and like you said, like me repenting.
00:44:40.200
So I, I had already repented by that time, but because of the guilt I had, um, from the
00:44:50.440
other divorces and just the things that I had done, I felt like I had, I think that's part
00:44:56.040
of why I felt like I had to stick it out and it was okay for me to be cheated on because
00:45:01.900
So there was a lot of really unhealthy, um, stuff in my mind.
00:45:07.720
And, and I felt like I had to kind of work my way back to God, which is not the way it
00:45:14.620
goes, you know, his grace is sufficient and he can have us back in an instant.
00:45:21.640
It's like, even though he had it there, it took me a while to actually accept that I was
00:45:26.300
forgiven and that, um, I could forgive myself and all of that.
00:45:31.420
So when I did that, um, and that season with God that was so sweet, um, while I was single
00:45:41.780
really for the first time in my life and, um, you think, oh, you'd be lonely and it'd
00:45:47.900
be so tough after everything you've gone through, but it was honestly one of the best seasons
00:45:51.940
Like I felt so close to him and finally realized that, um, I didn't need a person to feel whole.
00:46:09.760
And I think that's when, you know, my leadership in and out really started to, um, flourish because
00:46:17.340
it was, again, it was God's love and God's mercy and grace and everything in my life that
00:46:23.540
was starting to come out into, um, you know, our workshops and the stuff we teach and train.
00:46:35.060
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I remember a few years ago, of course, I had already been an In-N-Out fan, but a few years
00:47:50.120
ago, I saw that In-N-Out around San Francisco refused to like check, was it vaccine status?
00:47:58.840
California at the time said in order to go into a restaurant, you have to show your vaccine
00:48:10.080
And even the head of legal here was like, we're not doing that.
00:48:17.060
Um, well, there was, there were so many pressures and just hoops we were having to jump through.
00:48:26.780
They have to put this plastic thing up between us and our customers.
00:48:33.760
And I look back and I'm like, man, maybe we should have just pushed even harder on some
00:48:37.780
of that stuff and dealt with all the legal backlash.
00:48:40.980
But, um, but that was definitely where we held the line.
00:48:45.940
Like, we're not, we're not policing our customers, you know?
00:48:50.160
I mean, I think of my uncle saying, you know, we're not going to serve something, we're not
00:48:56.360
going to serve them something that we wouldn't eat or want, we want to give them the best.
00:48:59.900
And it's like, I wouldn't do that to anyone, you know?
00:49:03.280
I don't want this and I don't expect them to want it.
00:49:07.580
And did you have backlash from the state of California?
00:49:10.980
Um, over that, honestly, we, we, yeah, yes, we were shut down, shut down for a brief
00:49:26.180
I think there's a lot of people that were charged by that move.
00:49:32.280
We can be closed down for a couple days and, uh, and feel good about it.
00:49:40.800
So state of California, crazy in some ways, beautiful in a lot of ways, crazy in other
00:49:46.380
I know that y'all have felt that and y'all talked about opening up shop in Franklin, Tennessee,
00:49:53.240
Um, so tell me kind of like what that move, what that expansion means for the country or
00:49:58.200
not for the country, maybe for the country, but specifically for the company.
00:50:02.220
Um, so going back a little further, my uncle opened the office in Irvine that we have.
00:50:12.880
So we're in Baldwin Park and then Irvine opened in the 90s.
00:50:16.560
Um, when my dad, um, came down to run the business, um, cause he had moved us away.
00:50:26.900
It was family over fighting with his brother and running.
00:50:29.860
So, um, he came down and saw Irvine and all of that and was just like, this is not us.
00:50:41.880
Um, and he wanted to move everyone back to Baldwin Park.
00:50:48.900
He moved a lot of people back to Baldwin Park, but Irvine continued on and continued to grow.
00:50:54.920
And then, you know, my dad died a handful of years later.
00:50:58.280
So he never got to bring everyone back here and close Irvine.
00:51:02.880
So Irvine now, you know, we went from having a couple floors to nearly the whole building,
00:51:07.660
you know, um, so my vision for a long time has been to have, you know, these two offices
00:51:19.640
And, uh, so that's basically what's going to happen.
00:51:31.000
You, you're like a California girl through, right?
00:51:34.260
I, I mean, I really loved living in Northern California and I'm so thankful that I grew
00:51:41.740
up up there because I think it changed a lot of who I am today.
00:51:45.640
You know, I think I would be different if I was raised in Southern California.
00:51:49.040
Um, but, um, there, like you said, there's a lot of great things about California, but,
00:52:03.260
You know, the bulk of our stores are still going to be here in California, but, um, it
00:52:10.340
will be wonderful having an office out there growing out there.
00:52:16.580
Um, and being able to have the family and other people's families out there.
00:52:22.800
Um, and so in that it's two part, we'll have everybody under one roof here in Baldwin Park
00:52:32.860
That's a, that's a big transition and that's happening in the next few years, right?
00:52:37.360
We, we, we've kind of, you know, given it a longer runway so that it's smoother for everybody
00:52:44.460
And we gave them a lot of notice, you know, because we love them and want to make it as
00:52:50.080
But yeah, by 2030, we'll close the Irvine office.
00:52:54.200
So at one point you said that within your lifetime, like if you draw a line through the front
00:53:00.540
of Texas, everything to the left, like you want in and out there, but not maybe to the
00:53:07.620
And you talked about just like the importance of the kind of like novelty of in and out,
00:53:12.560
like that you liked when someone comes into town where there's an in and out, they're
00:53:15.880
like, I got to go there, which is totally true.
00:53:20.040
Um, I'm guessing though, since you're going to be, you know, to the right of that line that
00:53:25.700
you're probably going to be opening up in and outs there.
00:53:36.140
I think he's the one that actually drew the new map and he put the line up from Texas,
00:53:41.380
grabbed Tennessee, went around Tennessee and back up.
00:53:51.780
It's just, I guess I would say a man plans his ways and God's steps, you know, so we had
00:53:59.980
And I think, you know, Florida has begged us and we're still saying no, you know, the East
00:54:05.700
Coast states, we're still saying no, um, you know, we're able to reach Tennessee from our
00:54:13.840
So we're not putting a, our whole meat facility where we do all of our own beef and, and send
00:54:24.240
Um, we'll have a warehouse, but not, um, do our own meat there.
00:54:29.960
So Texas can reach some other States, you know, so, you know, yeah.
00:54:37.000
Most companies are thinking, how can we expand to as many places as possible, as fast as
00:54:48.400
My number one priority is really keeping the company, the same company that my grandparents
00:54:57.420
started as, you know, I want the legacy to continue.
00:55:02.100
Um, and we're doing that, but we're growing and we're so much bigger than we were when they
00:55:09.000
So growth is healthy and we have to have that growth.
00:55:12.500
And so it's really having that balance of, okay, you know, we have all of these amazing
00:55:22.240
They want to have a store one day, you know, so we have to have some growth, but we also
00:55:29.300
We don't want to be in every state and we don't want to ever compromise our values and
00:55:34.620
standards and, um, the cornerstones that my, that my grandparents laid down, you know,
00:55:39.280
so, um, so it's really just, you know, keeping those priorities, the forefront when we make
00:55:48.380
You're also not interested in adding a bunch of variety to your menu.
00:55:52.820
I mean, I'm guessing that's how you are able to keep all of the production under your own
00:55:57.700
house is that your menu is simple and it's going to stay simple, right?
00:56:04.560
Why do you think that you are one of the very few, like third generation, um, leaders of
00:56:12.840
a company that really, really does care so much about what your grandparents wanted?
00:56:20.160
I know that you've been offered a lot of money for In-N-Out, like you've mentioned princes,
00:56:31.060
Huh, you know, um, I think part of it is, um, I mean, one, God, just God, you know?
00:56:43.700
Um, but for me personally, what motivates me, um, I guess humility.
00:56:57.440
Um, and so I want to serve, um, I want to serve God by honoring, um, what my family started.
00:57:10.300
I want to make it something that he's proud of.
00:57:13.140
I want, um, you know, as I'm trying to hold true to what they want, I also see that there
00:57:20.100
were some things that needed to be better and what would God want, you know, what would
00:57:24.940
he want here and how can we make these things, um, fit, uh, God's priorities in the way he
00:57:34.080
would, uh, lead people and love people, care for them and teach them.
00:57:40.340
And so those things, I guess, just hold, holding true to, you know, uh, my stewardship.
00:57:53.400
It's like, I'm, I've been given this responsibility, so I don't, one, I don't deserve anything I
00:57:58.540
So I want to, uh, just honor him, glorify him, thank him by, um, keeping it the way it's
00:58:10.340
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00:59:58.680
You came out of like really difficult time, and then you decided, okay, like I'm ready.
01:00:05.660
And I honestly thought, okay, I'm on here, but the likelihood of me finding the right
01:00:12.600
person, you know, I wanted the anonymity where they didn't know who I was.
01:00:18.380
So I'm like, okay, I might have to just use a different name on here for now.
01:00:24.000
And then, you know, if something develops, tell them.
01:00:28.640
But I thought, to be honest, that after everything I went through, and this is, you know, I wasn't
01:00:40.600
living in guilt, but it's probably just those kind of guilt-type thoughts where you're going
01:00:44.240
to have to work your way back to even have a relationship with someone and have a marriage.
01:00:48.540
You know, will I even be blessed with having a marriage, you know?
01:00:51.840
So just God showing off, you know, it wasn't long, and he brought me someone that totally
01:01:04.540
loves me for who I am, cherishes me, tries to protect me, loves my kids.
01:01:11.320
You know, I came with some baggage and, you know, loved my three children, still loves them,
01:01:18.160
and, you know, I ended up having another that I swore I wasn't going to have.
01:01:26.560
So we've been married almost 11 years, and it's just, it's been a huge blessing.
01:01:36.580
And, you know, so many things were different about that relationship when it started.
01:01:42.500
We decided to pray for each other the first time we spoke.
01:01:51.300
We covered all of the controversial topics first conversation.
01:02:09.000
And, you know, something I felt with him, and he felt the same as I'm like, I've never been with someone that made me love God more.
01:02:16.800
You know, when you meet someone like that after everything you've been through, again, feeling undeserving, just feeling God's grace and going like, wow, you must really love me to give me this after everything I've screwed up.
01:02:33.360
You've talked about this idea of God not being like a plug-in in your life, but being plugged into God.
01:02:44.920
Can you talk about the difference between those two things?
01:02:48.300
I think that's—I didn't really think about it before, but it's almost what separates lukewarm Christianity from the real thing.
01:02:56.980
And it's, you know, people will talk about, you know, you have all of these different things in your life.
01:03:05.760
And all the other things plugged into this, like, power strip.
01:03:10.400
And the way I say is the healthy, the right way is God is the power strip.
01:03:18.580
He is your life, and then you plug all those other things into it.
01:03:22.480
And it's also a good indicator if something shouldn't be plugged in, because if it doesn't fit with Him, then He'll—they can't go together.
01:03:33.140
I just read this Fox News headline that was about In-N-Out, and it was about the happiness of your employees and the satisfaction of the people that work here.
01:03:43.780
Not just the people who have been here forever, but we're talking about the people that we all interact with, you know, at the cash register.
01:03:52.160
Like, 91% of employees said that they would recommend their job to someone else, which is, like, kind of an insane number.
01:04:03.000
How do you make sure that you have happy employees?
01:04:07.360
Well, you know, it's a priority for us to take care of them, you know.
01:04:14.860
They really are, like, my family, and I feel responsible for them, you know.
01:04:19.460
I feel like having the stewardship, I feel like I'm being entrusted, and I feel a very heavy weight of responsibility to do my best.
01:04:37.400
And, you know, kind of walking in that humility and sharing things and being open and letting them into my life, it just changes the atmosphere, you know.
01:04:53.480
So I think that we have something very special, something tangible that is just not necessarily in all businesses, you know.
01:05:03.900
So I do believe that God's love can be felt in this company.
01:05:12.340
And some people can't really figure out what they feel or what it is that's so special.
01:05:17.240
But I can't tell you how many times it's been confirmed.
01:05:21.400
I'm going to butcher it, not say it right, but the Hebrew word, yod, it's like the 10th letter in their alphabet, and it means hand of God.
01:05:32.600
And it was literally on the wall at one of our anniversary dinners.
01:05:38.480
It was in the invitation design was like kind of an old English font, and the eye, like the dot on the eye, was that Hebrew character.
01:05:53.420
And I saw it, and I was like, I feel like that's Hebrew.
01:05:56.180
I looked it up, and when I saw that it was hand of God, I'm like, I'm like, the writing is on the wall, and it's the eye.
01:06:03.200
I am, and so I was just tripping because, like, that's just exactly what we have here is the hand of God on this company.
01:06:14.640
And that's why we've weathered all these storms, these tragedies, and my life, and even coming into my leadership and everything I went through.
01:06:29.540
Okay, last thing, advice that you can give any business leader, whether they have three employees, whether they have 3,000 employees.
01:06:41.600
What advice would you give them to help them get their employees to catch on to their vision?
01:06:53.900
I think that can be a difficult thing as a leader.
01:06:58.660
You want everyone to be as enthusiastic about your vision as you are, but some people just don't know how to bridge that gap, how to do that.
01:07:08.920
I think there's two main things that come to mind.
01:07:16.280
And for me, my road was a lot of transparency, a lot of sharing my own weaknesses and vulnerability.
01:07:26.000
A lot of leaders do not want to be vulnerable, and I say, go against the grain.
01:07:36.880
So, that connection, because once they feel connected to you, then you have the buy-in to train them.
01:07:46.540
And the training is the next piece of you have a vision, you have a mission.
01:07:50.480
You have to tell the same story over and over and over and the why behind it.
01:08:00.000
This is why we do it this way and not the way they do it.
01:08:02.880
So, really, the connection and that relationship, and then just the repetition and sharing all the whys.
01:08:12.460
Lindsay, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us.
01:08:16.880
And thanks again for hosting us in your awesome office.