In-N-Out Announcing First Closure Due To Crime

The popular fast food chain In-N-Out announced this week that it was closing its first location in its long history. The closure of an Oakland location came amid a number of retail shutterings in California due to concerns over crime and persistent homelessness.

The chain announced that the area near the Oakland International Airport will close in March. This represents the first time in 75 years that In-N-Out has closed a location.

The company wrote that the closure is occurring despite “repeated steps to create safer conditions our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized.”

Oakland In-N-Out Relocating To Safer Location In Gaza https://t.co/n0vCw61W8g pic.twitter.com/obSpauYQyY

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“We feel the frequency and severity of the crimes being encountered by our customers and associates leave us no alternative,” company chief operating officer Denny Warnick wrote.

In 2019 the area around the Oakland location has been subject to more than 1,300 police calls, including two robberies and two burglaries.

Oakland has seen one of the worst increases in crime across the country. Two of the area’s major sports teams, the Raiders and Athletics, announced their departure from the city in recent years.

The closure of the Oakland In-N-Out is also not the first major issue a fast food chain had in a predominately Democratic Party-run state in the past year.

A New York State legislator recommended shutting down Chick-fil-A restaurants that operated at the state’s highway rest areas.

State Assemblyman Tony Simone (D) introduced a bill that would close down all restaurants operating in the state facilities unless they are open every day of the week. Chick-fil-A famously does not open on the day to follow the traditional Christian Sabbath.

While Simone’s reasoning is ostensibly to have visitors be able to access food seven days a week, he cited the company’s stands regarding LGBT issues.

Furthermore, a number of other locations around California have closed in the past year, especially as the state grapples with a significant increase in crime. Videos of break-ins at retail shops, including one Nordstrom location, went viral on the internet.

The Bay Area, including San Francisco and Oakland, have been especially hard hit by the closures.