Earlier this year, Oakland’s In-N-Out became the first restaurant chain to permanently close, but the fast-food company’s owners have recently complained about rampant crime, slow police response times and… It further reinforced this decision by condemning “absolutely”. Dangerous conditions for customers and staff.
In-N-Out representatives have previously blamed the closure on a spike in crime, and the chain’s owner, Lynsey Snyder, spoke about the decision Monday in an interview with conservative media outlet PragerU. He spoke in detail. The popular burger joint, which first opened in Baldwin Park in 1948, opened its 400th location last year and now operates in eight states.
The Oakland restaurant, which closed in March, was located near Hegenberger Road, a major route to and from Oakland International Airport.
“For 365 days, this is what I think.” [in] “For almost 300 days, there’s been some kind of event, some kind of happening in Oakland,” Snyder said of the place.
She detailed that there had been robberies, car burglaries, assaults, fights and thefts.
“There were actually gunshots. [that] I walked through the store,” Cinder said.
When In-N-Out announced its closure in January, the company’s chief operating officer, Denny Wernick, said that “despite the repeated steps we have taken to create a safer environment.” He said he was closing the restaurant because his customers were regularly the victims of crime.
Synder said Monday that the store was closed for the safety of its employees, adding: “I just felt that this was not acceptable, and the time it took for police to arrive on scene was also concerning.” .
In-N-Out representatives did not respond to The Times’ request for clarification on police response times.
Oakland Police said in a statement that overall crime rates are down 34% compared to this time last year.
“Our continued collaboration with law enforcement partners, implementation of Ceasefire gun violence prevention strategies, and significant improvements in 911 call response times continue to yield results,” the statement said.
Still, other well-known restaurants and businesses in Oakland have closed due to the city’s crime problems.
State officials offered support and residents voted to remove the mayor, but many blamed him for Oakland’s lack of law enforcement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent 120 Highway Patrol officers to the city in February under a state law enforcement campaign aimed at reducing violent crime and theft.
City and nonprofit officials are working to revive Ceasefire, a prevention program that provides residents with services such as therapy, drug rehabilitation, job training and life coaching. City officials credit the program with reducing homicides by 43 percent from 2012 to 2017. The program was crippled during the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person visits were halted.
The group Oakland United, which is recalling Sheng Tao, accused him of failing to declare a state of emergency on crime, failing to replace the fire chief he fired in February, and more than $276 million in available funds. They launched a campaign to have Shen Tao removed as mayor, citing reasons such as missing the 2023 deadline to apply for state funding. They are sent to cities and counties to fight retail theft.
