In-N-Out Burger has its eyes on even more eastward expansion: Owner and president Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson recently identified three additional states that could eventually get their own restaurants.
Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma are among the possibilities, Snyder-Ellingson revealed in a nearly 50-minute interview with actor Terry Crews released to celebrate the California-born burger chain's 78th anniversary.
The three states are situated along or near the company's distribution corridor between Texas and Tennessee. Snyder-Ellingson explained that the company's ability to deliver fresh meat from its Texas warehouse helped make Tennessee's expansion possible — and could open the door to additional states in the region.
"If you look at the map, you've got Texas. There's Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma," Snyder-Ellingson said. "There's some states there that are possibilities, you could say."
The company has already announced plans to open up locations in New Mexico for the first time.
While Snyder-Ellingson stopped short of announcing any new locations in the three states, she offered a glimpse into how In-N-Out chooses its next markets.
The company maintains a state-by-state record of customer requests for new restaurants, she said, and weighs that demand alongside real estate research, distribution logistics and the company's longstanding commitment to controlled growth.
"We have a whole sheet of the different states and how many requests we get from each state," she said.
The company's recent expansion into Tennessee offers a model for how it could reach additional states.
In-N-Out opened its first Tennessee restaurants in December 2025 and now has five locations in the state, with more planned. The company is also establishing an eastern regional headquarters in Franklin, near Nashville, which is expected to open by the end of 2026.
Snyder-Ellingson explained that Tennessee became a viable market in part because In-N-Out could supply restaurants there from its Texas distribution operation, making it possible to expand without compromising the company's insistence on fresh ingredients.
The move was also personal. Snyder-Ellingson, who has announced plans to relocate her family to Tennessee, said she and her husband had originally considered settling in Colorado before changing their minds.
That decision helped drive the creation of the new corporate office, allowing her to remain closely involved in the company's operations while living in Tennessee.
Despite the expansion, Snyder-Ellingson emphasized that In-N-Out has no intention of abandoning California, where her grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder, founded the chain in Baldwin Park in 1948.
"This is where we started. It's where we are now, and it's where we will always be," she said.
She also dismissed rumors that In-N-Out might close its California restaurants, saying such a move would make no business sense.
"We continue to grow in California, and we have lots of stores slotted for future cities in California," Snyder-Ellingson said.
The company plans to consolidate its Southern California corporate operations in Baldwin Park, closing its Irvine headquarters, while maintaining a separate presence in Tennessee.
And although the chain now operates in 10 states, Snyder-Ellingson said she has no plans to pursue rapid nationwide expansion.
She said In-N-Out maintains a steady growth rate, sometimes falling short of its annual opening targets because of permitting delays and other challenges. Preserving the quality, service and culture established by her grandparents remains more important than opening restaurants as quickly as possible.
"If I ever felt like we were slipping or losing our way, growth would look a lot differently," she said.
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