Nothing tests Pavlov’s theory in humans more than the sight of the iconic yellow arrow and red palm tree signage welcoming hungry customers to In-N-Out Burger locations throughout California.
While the Irvine-based fast food chain has previously maintained notoriously low prices for its hot, fresh burgers and fries, the company, like many California restaurants, says it is not immune to rising labor costs and what that means for changes to the menu.
“On April 1, we raised prices at California restaurants to accompany a raise given to members at those locations,” In-N-Out Burger Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick said in a statement emailed to ABC News.
That’s when the newly updated minimum wage increased across the statecausing confusion in some companies.
“I know that we are correcting the course of a minimum wage that has not kept up with the cost of living index and has not kept up with inflation. The pendulum is swinging to compensate for a lot of inactivity and wage stagnation. But it’s really hard for restaurants to be the first industry to bear the brunt of this,” Briana Valdez, founder and CEO of HomeState in Southern California, told “GMA” previously when the new law came into force.
Starting pay at In-N-Out Burger stores in California, Warnick told “GMA,” is “$22 to $23 an hour.”
Since making this change, Warnick said that “the price of a Double-Double, fries and drink has increased by $0.25 to $0.50 depending on location.”
News of In-N-Out’s price changes comes as rumors swirl on social media about exorbitant prices for other fast food favorites, including reports of a Big Mac meal that cost $18 at McDonald’s, which the president of the Golden Arches In the USA Joe Erlinger later addressedstating that the $18 meal was only sold “at one location.”
“I can tell you that I am frustrated and concerned, and so are many of our franchisees, when I hear about an $18 Big Mac meal being sold — even if it was in one U.S. location out of more than 13,700,” Erlinger wrote. in an open letter on May 29th. “More concerning, however, is when people believe this is the rule rather than the exception, or when they begin to suggest that Big Mac prices have risen 100% since 2019.”
He added: “The average price of a Big Mac in the US was $4.39 in 2019. Despite a global pandemic and historic increases in supply chain costs, wages and other inflationary pressures in the years that followed, the average cost is now $5.29. That’s a 21% increase (not 100%).”
In-N-Out confirms price changes on Double-Double and other menu items originally appeared in bomdiaamerica.com
