That's What A Hamburger Chain With No Sense of Its Legacy Is All About

(Photo via Paper.li.)

BOO to In-N-Out Burger for demolishing its oldest store, a 1954 now-empty structure located just down the street from In-N-Out headquarters.

So far, In-N-Out isn't explaining why they did it, but is offering a lame excuse: That it wants to build a replica of its first location there instead. Here's the L.A. Times' take on the news:

That tiny burger stand with its dual serving windows and outdoor eating area served as a model for future In-N-Outs as the Snyders slowly expanded their chain.

In November 2004, the firm opened a larger restaurant with indoor seating just south of the freeway and closed the smaller stand north of it. The structure had remained fenced off since then.

Although In-N-Out executives had talked of turning the abandoned burger stand into a museum, the company obtained a demolition permit this week from Baldwin Park building officials. Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out's vice president for planning and development, said the company may build a replica of the Snyders' original house-turned-burger stand on the site of the demolished eatery. The company's oldest functioning drive-thru is in Pasadena, he said.

Read about our visit last year to the In-N-Out company store.