The Hidden Meaning Behind In-N-Out's X-Shaped Palm Trees

In-N-Out Burger's crisscrossing palm trees are just as iconic as its legendary hamburgers and its secret menu offerings, informing hungry patrons that they have indeed arrived at their destination. But have you ever wondered why this symbol was chosen for the restaurant? After all, it's no coincidence that the majority of In-N-Out's more than four hundred locations feature these palm trees, with some even having two sets of them. It turns out, it was actually the popular burger chain's founder, Harry Snyder, who had the idea. According to In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder's book, "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger," Snyder was inspired by his favorite film — 1963's quirky, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

The film, one of several similar grand ensemble comedies of the time, featured some of Hollywood's Golden Age actors, including Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, and Ethel Merman, amidst a motley crew of comedy legends, all racing across southern California to find a suitcase of stolen cash buried beneath "a big W." In the end, the towering letter turns out to be four palm trees, two of which cross in the middle, forming the requisite "X marks the spot" of buried treasure — a suitcase full of money. For Snyder and his fans, the In-N-Out palms also mark the spot of an important treasure — his fast food empire and the trove of delicious burgers and fries.

Most of us have come to expect the memorable crossed palms anywhere we see the In-N-Out arrow, but those infamous palm trees were not there at the start. In fact, this inaugural California drive-thru (which opened in 1948) would thrive for over two decades without its iconic crossed palms in place. In the meantime, In-N-Out's bright yellow arrow logo (looming large since 1954) reigned singularly over the burgeoning burger kingdom, a personal favorite of Bobby Flay. It wasn't until the early '70s, as the successful enterprise expanded, that Snyder began to brainstorm another visual cue to lure customers to his treasured destination. Surrounded by the palm-tree-lined streets of Southern California, Snyder thought back to the starring role those criss-crossed palms played in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and was inspired, planting his first palms in 1972.

Unfortunately, the first attempt proved a failure, as the type of palms they'd chosen were a shorter, stumpy variety. But Snyder was undaunted. He had previously pioneered the industry's ubiquitous two-way speaker in his home garage in order for his crew to more efficiently take customer orders in the drive-thru, and he would figure this out too. After a bit of trial and error, Snyder was finally able to achieve his dream of X-shaped palms. As it turns out, buying medium-sized, approximately 20-feet-tall, Mexican fan palms and then arranging them in the X configuration was the perfect hack. The criss-crossed palms remain to this day and can be found at the majority of In-N-Out restaurants.