The billionaire president of In-N-Out is doing everything he can to keep costs down as California’s fast-food industry faces soaring menu prices amid inflation and the Golden State’s new minimum wage hike. At the company meeting, he said he had worked “with all my might.”
Lynsey Snyder, who took over the family-owned burger chain in 2010 at just 27 years old, has guided the company through inflation and minimum wage increases while keeping menu prices low and profits high.
“I was sitting in a meeting of vice presidents saying to each other, ‘We can’t raise prices that much, we can’t do that,'” Snyder said at a news conference Wednesday. Interview with TODAY. “I felt like I had an obligation to take care of my customers.”
Mr. Snyder, now 41, said the company has no intention of following competitors’ decisions to take a quick turn and raise prices.
“When everyone else was jumping, we weren’t,” she added.
California’s new minimum wage law went into effect on April 1, and several fast food restaurants have increased menu prices to compete with the new wage.
The bill, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall, requires fast food chains with 60 or more locations in the state to pay their workers at least $20 an hour, which is higher than any other company in the state. This exceeds the $16 minimum wage for all industries.
At Burger King in Los Angeles, the price of a Double Texas Whopper rose nearly 12% in just a few days, from $15.09 to $16.89.
The store’s Big Fish has increased in price by 53%, or $4, from $7.49 to $11.49, the Post reported.
While In-N-Out’s nearby competitors are raising prices dramatically, one of Snyder’s restaurants in Los Angeles has increased the price of its burgers by just 25 cents and drinks by just an extra nickel. did.
“This is a nominal increase,” customer Sean Fields told the Post earlier this month.
“That seems like a reasonable amount.”
Snyder said she didn’t follow other chains as they entered the digital fast-food era, a decision she says was also made with patrons in mind.
“No to mobile ordering because it has a huge impact on the customer service experience.
“There are lots of things we can do cheaper and easier, but that’s not the system we have.”
The restaurant has opposed mobile ordering for nearly a decade, including when then-startup DoorDash tried to deliver In-N-Out food to potential customers, a move that drew the ire of upper management. Ta.
The burger chain sued the delivery app, claiming it didn’t trust third-party services to handle its food. TMZ reported in 2015.
She also revealed that she regularly receives messages and calls asking her to sell In-N-Out or launch an IPO, but she will reportedly continue to say no. That’s what it means.
“We’re a family-owned business, we’re a private company, this is who we are, and I’m not ashamed of my faith,” Snyder said of the chain’s packaging, which includes Bible verses. Told.
