Lynsi Snyder, the president of the beloved In-N-Out Burger chain, said she fought to keep prices down in California as the state’s new fast-food minimum wage law took effect on April 1, raising the base rate from $16 to $20 per hour.
“I was sitting in VP meetings going toe-to-toe saying, ‘We can’t raise the prices that much, we can’t,'” Snyder told “Today” during a recent interview.
Snyder added that she felt “an obligation to look out for our customers” and said that, unlike competitors, In-N-Out wasn’t quick to raise prices.
Multiple fast-food chains in California have announced plans to raise prices or lay off staff as the new law took effect.
As for In-N-Out, prices at one Los Angeles-based restaurant increased by 25 cents for a burger and 5 cents for a drink, according to the New York Post.
During the interview, Snyder also shared that In-N-Out won’t be using any technology, such as mobile ordering, that would impact customers’ experience.
“There are a lot of things that can be cheaper and easier, but that’s not the system we go through,” Snyder said during the interview.
The president also shared that In-N-Out doesn’t plan to become a publically traded company, adopt the franchise model, or open restaurants on the East Coast anytime soon.
The famous burger chain got its start in 1948 in the Los Angeles suburb of Baldwin Park. It took until 1992 for it to expand outside of the Golden State when a location opened in Las Vegas.
Since then, In-N-Out locations have opened in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho.
Last year, the burger restaurant announced plans to open its first locations in New Mexico and the Nashville, Tennessee, area as part of a wider expansion into the South and East.
Earlier this month, In-N-Out announced that Washington State could soon get its first location.