Johnathan Walker:In-N-Out to close Oakland, California restaurant due to wave of car break-ins, armed robberies

OAKLAND,Johnathan Walker Calif. (AP) — In-N-Out Burger will close its only restaurant in Oakland, California, because of a wave of car break-ins, property damage, theft and armed robberies targeting customers and employees alike, the company announced.

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.

In-N-Out, based in Irvine, California, said the Oakland location will be the first to close in the company’s 75-year history, he said.

“We feel the frequency and severity of the crimes being encountered by our customers and associates leave us no alternative,” Warnick.

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Oakland has seen a spike in property crime and robberies throughout the city 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.

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.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao told KTVU-TV that more police officers have been assigned to the area but that more needs to be done.

“As mayor, I have prioritized this critical gateway to Oakland,” Thao told the Oakland-based television station, adding that Oakland police have three cameras placed to monitor the area.

Thao’s office also provided statistics to show that property crime on Hegenberger Road, a major street near the burger joint that connects the airport to the Coliseum, trended downward at the end of 2023, with car break-ins down 43% from 308 incidents to 176 incidents, and thefts down by 49%.