The first drive-thru restaurant with the use of speakers to order food, was invented by Esther Snyder and her husband Harry, in 1948. Esther had had experience as a restaurant manager in Seattle and when she married Harry they founded In-N-Out, a burgers and fries restaurant in Southern California. The philosophy behind the In-N-Out drive-thru restaurant remains the same today -- fresh food customers can order on a speaker system and then "drive-thru" to a window to collect.

Although many big competitors use the same drive-thru idea, In-N-Out Burgers still focuses on providing the freshest food possible. No freezers, heat lamps, or microwaves are used at In-N-Out and the shakes are made with real ice cream. Their hamburger meat is 100% beef and has no fillers, additives, or preservatives. In-N-Out drive-thru restaurants even bake their own hamburger buns with slow-rising dough! Customers can watch the fries, hand-sliced from fresh potatoes, being cooked.

The food at In-N-Out has remained old-fashioned, customer-pleasing, fresh, and many say delicious. The In-N-Out drive-thru offers 3 choices of 100% beef burgers: the "Double Double," the cheeseburger, and the hamburger. Fries, cooked in 100% vegetable oil, shakes, soda, lemonade, iced tea, and coffee round out the menu. In-N-Out drive-thru restaurants are usually opened until 1 AM six days a week.

In-N-Out Burgers has grown to over 200 stores throughout Southern California, Northern California, Arizona, and Nevada. The In-N-Out Burger Foundation, which gives 100% of customer donations directly to help victims of child abuse, was started by Esther in 1995. In-N-Out drive-thru restaurants remain private and family-owned, with many employees having stayed with the company for 20 years or more.

Most newer In-N-Out drive-thru stores also have dine-in facilities. Ever innovative, In-N-Out Burgers even has a "Cookout Department" which is a trailer complete with service staff that caters to cookouts, parties, and company picnics.