75 years of In-N-Out Burger history, year by year

In-N-Out Burger was built for speed.

Founders Harry and Esther Snyder revolutionized the fast food world on Oct. 22, 1948 when they began serving customers on the go in Baldwin Park from a 10-by-10-foot hamburger stand in Baldwin Park, a Los Angeles County bedroom community that didn’t even have a freeway then.

The chain will mark its 75th anniversary on Oct. 22 with a 12-hour festival at the In-N-Out Burger Dragstrip in Pomona, surrounded by the racing cars the Snyder family adores. The event is sold out.

The history is related in a new book by their granddaughter Lynsi Snyder, who is now owner and president of the chain. It’s called “The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger.”

In-N-Out’s big innovation was built by Harry Snyder, a two-way intercom that allowed motorists to order food that would be ready for them when they reached the window.

In-N-Out started out about the same time that McDonald’s began its quick-service operation in San Bernardino. McDonald’s has grown to more than 38,000 locations worldwide, according to its franchising overview. In-N-Out, which has shunned franchising and prefers to remain a family operation, has 395 locations in seven states, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon and Colorado. It will soon be eight with the construction of a hub in Tennessee announced by Lynsi Snyder in January.

Nevertheless, In-N-Out has a global reputation and has been praised by celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child and Gordon Ramsay. A drive-thru near Los Angeles International Airport has actually become a destination for tourists who land there, according to a recent article in Blue Sky News, a publication of Pittsburgh International Airport.

Here’s a timeline of notable events in the chain’s history.

Sources include Lynsi Snyder’s book, reporter Stacy Perman’s 2010 book “In-N-Out Burger,” In-N-Out’s list of store openings, the In-N-Out website, newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements.

1948: Harry and Esther Snyder open the first In-N-Out drive-thru in Baldwin Park on Oct. 22 with a $5,000 investment and a partner, Charlie Noddin. Harry is 35 and Esther is 28.

1949: Harry Snyder builds a two-way speaker system to speed up drive-thru service. Because it’s a new concept, he posts a sign explaining to customers how to use it. A second restaurant opens in Covina.

1951: Restaurants open in La Verne and Covina.

1951: The couple’s first son, Harry Guy Snyder, is born in Covina on Feb. 22.

1952: Store No. 5 opens at 2114 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, the oldest store that’s still standing, according to Lynsi Snyder. Late in the year, the Snyders split with Noddin, who takes three of the first six In-N-Out locations. Those restaurants will be renamed and leave the chain.

1952: Harry and Esther’s second son, Richard Allen Snyder, is born in Covina on July 13.

1954: Construction of the I-10 Freeway forces the Snyders to close their original stand in 1954 and rebuild nearby with a two-lane drive-thru. In-N-Out introduces a new logo with an arrow that “points to pride,” replacing the words “no delay.”

1958: In-N-Out replaces bottled soft drinks with fountain drinks.

1961: The chain begins making Animal Style burgers for customers.

1963: The Double-Double first appears on the menu. In-N-Out hires its first in-house butcher.

1965: Harry Snyder invests in the development of the Irwindale Drag Strip, which will serve unbranded versions of his burgers at its concession stands.

1966: The first official employee handbook gets printed.

1971: First In-N-Out outside of the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys opens in North Hollywood. Harry Snyder begins printing map mats to protect customers’ clothes if they’re eating in their cars. Before that, his teams handed out butcher paper to protect customers’ clothes if they were eating in their cars.

1972: Restaurant No. 10 opens in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Harry Snyder, a fan of the 1963 film “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” begins planting crossed palm trees in front of most of his restaurants. In the movie, treasure is buried under palm trees with trunks that cross to resemble a “big W.”

1973: Large brass pins with silver coating replace diaper pins to secure employees’ aprons.

1974: Red aprons replace white aprons on May 5. The chain launches a cookout department to cater events. The first official cookout takes place at Badillo Elementary School in Covina. The first Rose Parade cookout in Pasadena follows.

1975: Milkshakes are added to the menu. Harry Snyder starts the tradition of In-N-Out T-shirts with his own cartoon of a French fry. An In-N-Out, also known as Store No. 17, opens in Santa Ana on Sept. 28. It is the first In-N-Out outside Los Angeles County.

1976: Harry Snyder dies at 63 after a battle with lung cancer on Dec. 14. His son Rich becomes the company president at 24, and his firstborn Guy becomes vice president.

1977: First In-N-Out commercial airs.

1978: Fire ravages In-N-Out headquarters in Baldwin Park on Aug. 16.

1979: The first restaurant with a dining room opens in Ontario on Oct. 4.

1981: New headquarters open in Baldwin Park. A Riverside County restaurant opens in Corona.

1982: Lynsi Snyder, Guy’s daughter and Harry and Esther’s only grandchild, is born on May 5.

1984: Esther and Rich Snyder launch the In-N-Out Foundation with the goal of combatting child abuse.

1985: Rich Snyder begins printing including Bible verses on In-N-Out’s paper goods.

1988: The chain’s 50th store opens in Thousand Palms on June 17.

1989: A company store opens in Baldwin Park selling T-shirts and other In-N-Out merchandise.

1992: President George H.W. Bush hosts Rich Snyder at a White House dinner honoring Russia’s President Boris Yeltsin on June 16. In-N-Out switches from Pepsi to Coca-Cola beverages. The first location outside of California opens in Las Vegas on Nov. 17.

1993: Rich Snyder dies at 41 in a private plane crash near John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana on Dec. 15.

1994: Founder Esther and son Guy Snyder take top roles in the company. The company moves its corporate headquarters to Irvine while leaving a large presence in Baldwin Park. The chain’s 100th restaurant opens in Gilroy on Nov. 10.

1996: Dr. Pepper is added to the drink menu on Nov. 20.

1997: In-N-Out opens its 119th location in Westwood with a throwback 1950s design on April 1.

1998: The film “The Big Lebowski” opens on March 6. A scene includes lines about In-N-Out, ensuring it a place in national pop culture. In-N-Out marks its 50th anniversary with 134 locations.

1999: Lynsi Snyder, 17, takes a job at a Redding In-N-Out near her family’s Northern California ranch, filling out an application like anybody else. On Dec. 4, her father, Guy Snyder, dies at 48.

2000: The chain’s first Arizona restaurant opens at Lake Havasu on May 3.

2001: Vanity Fair begins hiring In-N-Out trucks for its post-Oscar parties.

2002: Animal Style Fries are born in West Covina.

2003: Photographers spot Britney Spears going through an In-N-Out drive-thru in Hollywood on Feb. 27. California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is photographed eating a Protein Style burger at a Merced In-N-Out on Oct. 4, in the final days before an Oct. 7 recall election put him in office.

2004: On Halloween night, a Bay Area blogger named Will Young (Whatup Willy) successfully orders a 100X100 in Las Vegas on Halloween. That’s 100 patties by 100 slices of cheese with one bun. He is charged $97.66 for a Double-Double with 98 extra patties.  

2005: Store No. 200 opens in Temecula on Dec. 30 with four early customers riding horses through the drive-thru.

2006: Esther Snyder dies at 86 on Aug. 4.

2007: Tucson In-N-Out has the chain’s biggest opening to date, according to Inside Tucson Business.

2008: The chain opens a restaurant in Washington City, Utah, putting In-N-Out in four states.

2010: Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of Harry and Esther and daughter of Guy, becomes president at 27 on New Year’s Day. TV personality Huell Howser devotes an episode of his public television series “California’s Gold” to In-N-Out on May 31.