IRVINE, CA — Habit Burger & Grill continues to troll Southern California rival In-N-Out, updating a billboard that congratulated In-N-Out on its No. 2 ranking in last year’s USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards for best burger to reflect that the restaurant dropped to No. 4 in 2025.
Irvine-based Habit won the category both years, ranking No. 1.
The new billboard, like the old, says, “Congrats on #2, In-N-Out,” but shows the “#2” crossed out with a red X and replaced with “#4.” Below the congratulatory message, the billboard notes that Habit ranked No. 1.
The billboard is located outside In-N-Out’s drive-thru near Los Angeles International Airport.
“We congratulated In-N-Out on being #2 last year with a billboard,” Jack Hinchliffe, chief marketing officer at Habit, said in a news release. “This year, we were going to send a gift but couldn’t afford the postage to Tennessee, so we saved a few bucks and reused the same billboard. We just had to swap out the 2 for a 4.”
Hinchliffe’s reference to Tennessee is a jab at In-N-Out President and Owner Lynsi Snyder’s recent decision to move out of the Golden State to Tennessee, where the chain, which was founded in Baldwin Park in 1948, is launching a new eastern territory office and opening 35 restaurants. Snyder disclosed the move last month on the Relatable podcast.
