IRVINE, Calif.—California-based In-N-Out Burger is breaking into two separate companies, to be named In Burger and Out Burger, in order to deal with its recent business challenges stemming from vaccine mandates. Last month the burger chain said, “As a Company, In-N-Out Burger strongly believes in the highest form of customer service and to us that means serving all Customers who visit us and making all Customers feel welcome. We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government.”
In October, the Contra Costa Health Services Environmental Division shut down the dining room of the company’s Pleasant Hill location because the restaurant’s employees were not enforcing the vaccine mandate and checking for vaccination status. Shortly after the closure, the privately held, family-owned chain stated the following: “We fiercely disagree with any government dictate that forces a private company to discriminate against customers who choose to patronize their business. This is clear governmental overreach and is intrusive, improper, and offensive.”
A corporate spokesman says that after the split, Out Burger will consist of the drive-thru business, which has been unaffected by vaccine mandates, while In Burger will be the dine-in business, which in some areas, like Pleasant Hill, has been shuttered. In areas without mandates, In Burger will continue to serve customers as usual. But in areas where customers must be checked for vaccination status before entry, the company will lease or even simply sell off its dining-room real estate. The spokesman said that if, for example, a bar owner were to take over that floor space, “we would encourage the bar to welcome everyone, including minors, because checking ID to confirm the legal age for drinking would be downright intrusive and constitute discrimination.” He added that they would likewise support a strip club that wanted to provide the highest level of customer service to all ages—and he declared that the prohibition of such a business practice would be extremely improper and incredibly offensive.
