In a recent talk, In-N-Out Burger owner Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson expressed a desire to keep the fast-food chain running the way her grandparents founded it — and that means no online ordering or pickup.
Her March 31 statements came while speaking to Pepperdine University President Jim Gash in front of an audience of more than a thousand people on the Malibu campus.
The university posted the almost hour-long conversation on its YouTube channel earlier this week.
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During the conversation, Gash read an audience member’s question about whether the company ever intends to embrace automation, including adding the ability to order online, or via an app so that customers can pick up their orders.
“We have, for sure, had that put in front of us, and the answer is no,” Snyder-Ellingson responded. “The main reason is part of what makes In-N-Out and the experience so special is the interaction and the customer service that we’re able to give, the smile, the greeting. Just that warmth and feeling, the culture. And so, the mobile ordering will definitely take a piece of that away, and there’s also the freshness factor.”
Since Harry and Esther Snyder first opened their 10-square-foot stand in Baldwin Park in 1948, the company has prioritized quality control over rapid growth. For decades, the chain remained strictly a Southern California thing, only venturing as far as its beef supply chain would allow.
That footprint is now spreading further east with the addition of Tennessee in late 2025, while also growing within its existing states — 10 of them as of today.
In-N-Out recently announced five new locations that are officially “opening soon.”
Audience members at Pepperdine also got a glimpse into Snyder-Ellingson’s go-to order at the family-owned burger chain: A double-meat burger, mustard-fried, with “extra spread, pickles and chopped chilis only,” she said.
