Few brands have the loyal following of In-N-Out Burger. If you live outside of California, it’s hard to really understand just how beIoved the brand is among its fans. If you live in California, it’s just a part of the experience. Until you leave, that is.
Most of that love comes from the fact that, as far as fast food goes, In-N-Out is about as good as it gets. Of course, a lot of its appeal also comes from the fact that the company’s 385 locations are located almost entirely in California and its neighboring states.
If, however, you live any further east of the Rockies, you’ve been out of luck. If that’s you, your only opportunity has been to find one when you travel west. Well, until now.
Last week, the company announced that it would be opening a corporate hub in Franklin, Tennessee, which will allow it to expand further east. In-N-Out also says it will be opening its first stores in the Nashville area by 2026.
If you’re a fan of animal-style fries, you understand that this is a big deal. It’s also a huge risk for the company and its brand. Here’s why:
This is a company that is fiercely opposed to change. It hasn’t added a menu item since 2018 (hot chocolate). It still sells just burgers, fries, soft drinks, and milkshakes. As a result, the restaurant is known for both fresh, great-tasting food and incredible customer service. I can think of only one other restaurant where you can get in a drive-thru line 30 cars deep and still have hot food in just a few minutes, and that one isn’t open on Sundays.
There is clearly a lot of demand for new locations. That seems like an argument for expanding to new states, but it’s also why the move is risky.
You see, over the past 75 years, In-N-Out has jeaIously guarded its brand. A big part of that has meant recognizing that fast growth isn’t everything if it means compromising quality. After all, quality is its brand.
In-N-Out only uses fresh, never-frozen ingredients–including its beef. That makes its burgers and fries taste better, but it also means the restaurant is limited in the areas it can serve.
The company also doesn’t franchise its locations. That has allowed it to maintain far more control over the level of service its restaurants provide, but has also meant it kept things close to home.
“You put us in every state and it takes away some of its luster,” said In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder in a 2018 interview. She was right. Part of the reason the company’s burgers have such a loyal following is because they’re hard to get–especially if you live east of the Rocky Mountains.
It takes a lot of courage–if you think about it–to resist the temptation to grow at all costs. The thing is, most companies don’t consider that those costs are real, even if they aren’t immediately obvious. If the quaIity of your product gets worse the more customers you serve, you’re doing it wrong.
If, suddenly, there are In-N-Out Burger locations everywhere, it’s not as special. If you’re used to swinging by the Sepulvida location when you land at Los Angeles International Airport, and eating a Double-Double while watching planes land, it’s not quite as special an experience if you can get one on your way home from work.
On the other hand, there is value in meeting your customers where they are. In-N-Out is a restaurant, after all, not an amusement park. Sure, people look forward to eating there when they travel, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow–even if that means cautiously.
“Our Customers are our most important asset at In-N-Out, and we very much look forward to serving them in years to come, and becoming part of the wonderfuI communities in The Volunteer State,” said Synder in a statement. That’s an important acknowledgment–the part about customers being the company’s most important asset.
The interesting lesson here is that there is a balance between exclusivity and meeting your customers where they are. For a variety of reasons, In-N-Out has erred on the side of sticking close to home, even if that means it can’t serve all of its customers. That’s been a winning strategy so far, and I don’t think that will change just because it’s sIowly starting to open more locations farther east.
A horror movie is so gross and disturbing that it’s been banned in more than 40 countries. In fact, someone even got arrested for showing it!
Warning: The content of this piece may upset some readers.
Most people enjoy getting a little scared by a horror movie every once in a while, right? The kind that’s packed with blood, guts, and surprise moments that you can’t forget.
But do you think you could handle the most talked-about horror movie out there? This one is on another level.
We’re not talking about something like Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate, which might cause a little buzz because of its satanic themes.
We’re talking about a horror movie so extreme that it’s been banned in over 40 countries. Yes, seriously!
It even got a film festival director in trouble, and he was arrested for showing it.
The movie we’re talking about? A Serbian Film. And believe me, I’m not exaggerating with how intense it is.
The story follows Milos, a retired Serbian porn star, who gets an offer to star in one last movie for a lot of money.
But soon, he finds himself stuck in a horrifying snuff film, filled with such disturbing sexual scenes and violence that some of it is too shocking to even explain.
When the director, Srđan Spasojević, was interviewed by Indiewire about what inspired the film, he said: “We wanted to show our true feelings about our region and the world. On the surface, everything seems polite and politically correct, but underneath, it’s really messed up.”
Released in 2010, the movie caused a huge controversy.
To be shown in any country, major cuts had to be made just to get a rating.
In the US, about a minute was cut to get an NC-17 rating.
In the UK, they had to cut a massive three minutes and 48 seconds from 11 different scenes just to show it in theaters.
In 2011, a bold film festival director, Angel Sala, got into trouble and was charged with “exhibiting child pornography” after a Roman Catholic group complained about a screening of the movie.
Although the charges were dropped, Sala could have faced a year in prison if things had gone differently.
Out of the 46+ countries that have banned the film, big ones like Spain, Australia, and Malaysia won’t allow it to be shown at all.
Critics are divided on A Serbian Film. Some admire the director’s vision, while others call it “disgusting.”
Film critic Mark Kermode said, “The director claims it’s symbolic, but if that’s true, the message gets lost in the ridiculous gore.”
“The most frustrating part is that regular torture porn is bad enough, but when it tries to be deep and artsy, it’s even worse.”
If you’re still thinking, “Hmm, I might give it a try,” a top review on IMDB might change your mind. It says: “I heard about this movie on YouTube, someone said don’t watch it, it’s made to disturb you. But I didn’t listen, and now I feel like throwing up. Please don’t watch this, just don’t, I’m literally crying right now.”
After reading that, I’m thinking I’ll take their advice.
If you’re in the US and still curious, A Serbian Film is available on Vudu.
But honestly? I’d skip it. Seriously.
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