In-N-Out Burger will close it’s Oakland, California location due to car break-ins, property damage, theft, and robberies that have affected both customers and employees.
It will be the first location the franchise has closed in it’s 75 year history, and it’s no surprise it’s happening in California.
In-N- Out is Out
By now, most Americans are aware of California’s crime problems – particularly in the big blue cities.
The Associated Press reports, “The fast-food burger joint in a busy corridor near Oakland International Airport will close on March 24 because even though the company has taken “repeated steps to create safer conditions our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized,” Denny Warnick, In-N-Out’s chief operating officer, said in a statement Wednesday.”
“We feel the frequency and severity of the crimes being encountered by our customers and associates leave us no alternative,” Warnick said.
Consider the amount of additional security that particular In-N-Out location should enjoy due to it’s proximity to an international airport, and yet the crime remains rampant.
The story continued:
Oakland has seen a spike in property crime and robberies throughout the city located across the bay from San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The In-N-Out slated for closure is in a busy business corridor that attracts travelers headed to the airport and baseball fans who attend A’s games at the Coliseum. Since 2019, police have logged 1,335 incidents in the vicinity of the restaurant on Oakport Street — more than any other location in Oakland, the newspaper reported.
That number includes nine robberies, two commercial burglaries, four domestic violence incidents and 1,174 car break-ins, according to Oakland police data shared with the Chronicle. The Oakland Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for the data and comment from The Associated Press.
More Crime, Less Burgers
“Sean Crawford, who works in a building around the corner from the restaurant, told the newspaper that last year, he saw two people get out of a car and go from vehicle to vehicle in the In-N-Out drive-thru lane, robbing people at gunpoint,” AP noted.
How is it possible for criminals to feel so at liberty they can casually walk around robbing people at gunpoint?
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said that more police officers would be stationed to the area, known as the Hegenberger corridor, and that “As mayor, I have prioritized this critical gateway to Oakland.”
That that is the first In-N-Out in company history to close is telling. Crime in Oakland skyrocketed last year: vehicle thefts increased 44%, and burglaries went up 23% over 2022.
It’s hard to imagine any business staying open in those kinds of conditions.
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