How In-N-Out Burger’s president runs her fast-food empire: Keep it simple, affordable and close ( www.nbcnews.com )

Lynsi Snyder is expanding the family-run California chain as far east as Tennessee. But as for the East Coast? “I’m probably saying never.”

In-N-Out isn’t your typical burger joint, and it insists expanding its footprint won’t change that.

For nearly eight decades, the West Coast restaurant chain has remained a private, family-owned company that has cultivated fiercely loyal customers and a quirky identity despite being located in just a handful of states. But recently it’s been on a growing spree that will soon extend as far east as Tennessee.

Since Lynsi Snyder took over as the California-based company’s president in 2010, its size has nearly doubled, from 230 stores in four states to 402 in eight. In-N-Out Burger is opening in Washington, its ninth state, with New Mexico and Tennessee to follow.

Snyder said she’s still cautious about expanding too far or too fast and remains focused on keeping prices lower than competitors’. Even before taking the reins, she said she “felt such an obligation to look out for our customer. When everyone else was taking these jumps, we weren’t.”