For those of you who haven't been following, In-N-Out co-trustee (and former top executive, before this spat) Richard Boyd filed suit last month alleging that 23-year-old Lynsi Martinez, heir to the double-double throne, is attempting a coup before the chain rightfully belongs to her, and wants to expand In-N-Out beyond its humble 202 locations, as well as kick out burger matriarch - and Martinez's grandma - Esther Snyder. Martinez and her cohorts shot back with their own lawsuit, accusing Boyd of fraud and embezzlement. Christiano comments:
The whole thing seems sordid, ugly and, worst of all, familiar. It
stinks of a monopolizing American greed that won't be satisfied with local
success; it must be national, it must be global, it must be viral. Remember King
Midas? Everything he touched turned to golden arches.So In-N-Out now stands at a
crossroads.
Today as I wait in line at the drive-thru, I wonder which way that giant
arrow will point. Will the course of empire take it eastward, bringing
Double-Doubles to Denver, Des Moines and Da Bronx? Apart from making those of us
in the West feel a little less special, that wouldn't be such a bad thing,
unless in the Starbucksification of In-N-Out Burger, something gets lost. If the
old-fashioned, slow-rising sponge dough goes, then so goeth I. If celebrity
hotties on TV begin dribbling special sauce down their chins, then none will
dribble down mine. I don't think I'm alone in this.
My thoughts are that if In-N-Out recklessly expands its locations eastward, it will be more open to other indulgences, such as expanding its famously restrictive menu...and inevitably, quality will die (especially if the company goes the route of franchising). Change is not good, in this case. Christiano offers Song of Solomon 2:15 to end his piece. I offer this truncated version of 1 Corinthians 3:17:
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's
temple is sacred
Amen
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