Harry Snyder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the founder of In-N-Out Burger. For the scientist, see Harry Snyder (scientist).

Harry Snyder (1913 – 1976) along with his wife Esther Snyder were the founders of In-N-Out Burger. Snyder was one of the first people to develop the idea of a drive-thru hamburger restaurant, where customers would be able to order their food via an intercom. At that time, most hamburger stands employed carhops that served customers seated in their cars.

He and his wife opened the first In-Out-Burger on October 22, 1948 in the Los Angeles suburb of Baldwin Park, California. In-N-Out is also billed as California's first drive-thru, thanks to the ingenuity of the Snyders. By the mid-50's the chain had expanded to six stores in the Los Angeles area. By the time of Harry's death in 1976 from lung cancer, the company had expanded to 18 stores. ^[1]