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In and Out is expanding, They are in 5 States, Their strategy is to take on Five Guys.

They were were a very expensive franchise and that is the reason they were growing so slow in the past.

They are changing that and are looking to go into overdrive.

If you have a Five Guys that is successful near you, you will likely see an In-n-out open up.

Fat Burger doesn’t compete with either of these, they tend to open up where there are real burger connoisseurs and established burger houses with long waits

People would still like to go to their regular local fancy burger house, but the Fat Burger has a drive thru with almost no wait

In-n-Out was never a franchise. Maybe that has changed but as of a few years ago it was 100% company-family owned for decades. They grew at a regular pace and mostly in California and the West but they have been around since at least the 1950’s though they grew slowly for the first 25 years.

The In-n-Out family have a very sad history. The father/founder died at age 67 with 18 restaurants in the late 1970s. The eldsest son took over at age 24 and expanded it to almost 100 stores, but he died in a plane crash at age 40 or so in the early 1990s. The other son took over, but then he died a few years later from drug overdose. The wife of the founder took over, surviving the death of her 2 sons, and ran it for another 10 years. Upon her death it went into trust for the only surviving family member. Her granddaughter - the daughter of the son who died of an overdose - will have complete control of the company by the time she is 36. They have 256 Restaurants and probably (my guess) have revenues of around $500 million a year... maybe more. Nice inheritance.

Oh, there are references to Bible Passages on all their packaging - cups, wrappers, napkins and trays.

In-N-Out is not a franchise, to my knowledge. Always been company owned stores. Strict standards for meat processing plants had kept expansion moving slowly. The company did not want to move faster than quality control would allow. No freezers in stores means food products have to be delivered from fairly short distances. Their move to Texas require a new plant for that purpose.

In & Out is a family owned business and is Not a franchise. Every restaurant is owned by the Snyder Family and the are committed Christians. Their drink cups all have Bible verses on the inside of the bottom of the cup. Their food quality is always the best and their employees are paid well.

I’ve never tried Five Guys, but I am told they are an In & Out copycat. You can’t do better than perfect, so I don’t think Five Guys could match up.