Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) recently made a splash defending Atlanta-based Chick-Fil-A after students at Notre Dame protested the addition of the chicken chain to the University’s menu of on-campus retail dining options. The good Senator said he’d “go to war for the principles Chick-Fil-A stands for,” but declined to specify what, exactly, those principles might be. The ND students, of course, follow in a long line of Chick-Fil-A opponents who decry the company’s history of anti-LGBTQ+ lobbying and staunch Right Wing political postures. Somehow, this also inexplicably includes always-closed-on-Sunday: REALLY, Chick-Fil-A? Fasting on Sunday is now a family value? Full story is here.
The chicken sandwich wars aside, and all due respect to Sen. Graham, but maybe he’s backing the wrong fast-food chain, at least from a stay-true-to-your-roots standpoint? Case in point, see the Forbes feature here on In-N-Out Burgermistress Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of the founders, and a devout Christian who actually sports Bible verse tattoos on her person. She even sneaked Luke 6:35 onto the coffee cups a few years ago.
The most remarkable thing, though, is that In-N-Out still has only 15 items on the menu, just one more than at the time of the chain’s founding in 1948: Hot chocolate was added in 2018. Oh, and In-N-Out has an extremely devout following in the states where they do business. They do a very few things very, very well. Taken together that has made Lynsi Snyder a billionaire with a 99% approval rating among her 26,000 employees. Take THAT, Elon Musk.
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Alas, In-N-Out doesn’t currently do business anywhere near South Bend, Indiana, where Notre Dame is located. The fact is, they only recently expanded to Colorado, currently with just four locations in-state here. The strategy at In-N-Out has always been slow careful growth coupled with a reliance on the principles that started them off: Consistently high quality food, meticulous customer care, and an unwavering loyalty to their employees.
Consider this: Entry-level burger-flippers at In-N-Out make about a third more than their full-time hourly counterparts at other national fast food chains. And the average In-N-Out store manager has been with the company 17 years and makes $163,000 annually. In case you were keeping score at home, that’s more than the typical dentist, accountant or financial advisor in Southern California, where In-N-Out is based. All this, and the double-double actually costs LESS today – inflation adjusted – than it did 30 years ago. They must be doing something right.
Bottom line, Chick-Fil-A is OK as long as you don’t have a yen for something to eat on a Sunday. But In-N-Out? It’s the best of all possible worlds: Family values and fresh-cooked meat, seven-days-a-week. I say, those are some principles worth fighting for, Sen. Graham. And you can quote me on that too.
Hmmm… Notice any similarities between the In-N-Out logo above and the South Carolina state flag? Just wondering, Lindsay Graham.
My son has worked at In-n-Out for about a year now. Yes, they treat their employees VERY well – lots of cool swag!
Glad you like your In and Out Burger. First time was good, since then, the quality at the stores I’ve visited in Tucson and Vegas has been crap. Cold fries and long wait times. You get what you pay for.
Bash Chick-Fil-A all you want. Most locations have two drive thru lanes to process orders more efficiently. A high school classmate of mine owns a store and has numerous long time employees so they must be doing something right. And what’s wrong with giving your employees Sunday off? I guess a day of rest and family values is out of favor these days/just another day of the week?
“You get what you pay for?” You callin’ me cheap, Rubber Chicken Man? No worries. I will say this, though: One big potential problem with taking Sunday off, you just never know what those pesky disgruntled folk might get up to when the place is empty. Don’t believe me? See here: https://youtu.be/ShOBlVEMJK8