Citing Crime, In-N-Out announces closure of Oakland location

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34. "Additionally, this location remains a busy and profitable one for the company ..."

In-N-Out in Oakland to close over increase in crime, company says

By Dion Lim and ABC7 Bay Area Digital Staff KGO logo
Monday, January 22, 2024 7:38AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- In-N-Out Burger is closing its Oakland location in a few weeks due to crime, according to Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick. ... The company confirmed to ABC7's Dion Lim the closure of the restaurant located at 8300 Oakport St., which has been open for nearly two decades.

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In a statement, Warnick detailed the type of crime that customers would frequently witness and be subject to. ... "Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies," Warnick wrote.

Link to tweet

"We are grateful for the local community, which has supported us for over 18 years, and we recognize that this closure negatively impacts our Associates and their families. Additionally, this location remains a busy and profitable one for the company, but our top priority must be the safety and wellbeing of our Customers and Associates - we cannot ask them to visit or work in an unsafe environment," he continued.

https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/5435199_080119-kgo-in-n-out-img_Image_06-26-17,04.jpg
Undated photo of the exterior of In-N-Out Burger

Warnick said employees will be transferred or can receive a severance package. Its last day in operation is Sunday, March 24.

FOOD

Oakland's only In-N-Out to permanently close

By Amanda Bartlett
Jan 21, 2024


The Oakland In-N-Out is seen in 2019.
Bobby Y./Yelp

Oakland’s only In-N-Out will serve its last double-double on March 24 after more than 18 years in operation at 8300 Oakport Street, the burger restaurant’s chief operating officer Denny Warnick confirmed with SFGATE in an emailed statement Sunday.

Warnick described the store as “busy and profitable” for the company, and drive-thru lines during the dinner rush often stretched all the way out into neighboring parking lots. However, he cited “ongoing issues with crime” as the reason for the closure.

“Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies,” Warnick wrote in the statement, which was first reported by KGO. “...Our top priority must be the safety and well-being of our Customers and Associates – we cannot ask them to visit or work in an unsafe environment.”

The restaurant is just over two miles away from Oakland International Airport, where rental car companies have recently cautioned customers returning vehicles to watch their belongings and avoid filling up on gas at stations in the immediate vicinity. Last week, Oakland police told SFGATE that 271 auto burglaries occurred at the Shell gas station on 285 Hegenberger Road in 2023 along with 15 robberies and five instances of vehicle theft.

Security guards for Allied Universal and Brosnan Risk Consultants also recently told the San Francisco Standard that they had taken more theft reports at In-N-Out than at any other location they patrol, seeing as many as five break-ins there per day. Sandwich boards stationed near the front doors of the popular burger chain warned customers not to leave valuables in their cars and to lock their vehicles.

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