In-N-Out Burger closes Oakland store over crime concerns

In-N-Out Burger is closing its only store in Oakland, California due to concerns about crime, the company said.

It marks the first time in its 75-year history that the company has shut down a location, according to In-N-Out.

"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," it said in a statement.

The store will close on 24 March.

While data suggests several different types of crime - including murders - fell on a national level in 2023, burglaries, robberies and motor vehicle thefts rose in the city of Oakland on the east side of San Francisco Bay.

Violent crimes increased by 18% from 2019 to 2022, according to data from the police department. Robberies rose by 37% and burglaries by 24% in 2023, according to data reviewed by KPIX, a local affiliate of the BBC's US partner CBS News.

In just the area surrounding the In-N-Out near the Oakland International Airport, police have reported 1,335 incidents of crime since 2019, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The popular burger joint had served Oakland customers for over 18 years. In a statement shared with US media, the chain restaurant's Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick said that while the company had relocated restaurants over the years, it had never before completely shut down a store.

The company said it recognised the shuttering would negatively affect employees and their families. All staff were offered the chance to transfer to nearby restaurants or receive a severance package, it said.

"[T]his 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," In-N-Out said in a statement.

Several businesses have closed in the California city due to crime, including a Starbucks and several local businesses.

Several national corporations have also shuttered stores in other parts of the US, citing rising crime. Target, for example, announced in September it would close nine stores in four states over retail theft, despite data suggesting levels of crime were not necessarily worse at those store locations than others in the same city.

Nationally, the US murder rate fell by more than 12% last year, while violent crime also dropped substantially, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.