Taco Bell eating places shut eating rooms in Oakland as crime grips metropolis

Several Taco Bell eating places in Oakland, California, have closed their eating rooms and are solely providing drive-thru service as a surge in crime grips the town.

The Diversified Restaurant Group, which owns almost 300 Taco Bell areas throughout California, Nevada, Kansas and Missouri, has closed the eating rooms in any respect 4 of its areas in Oakland because of security issues, KPIX reported.

One of the eating places, positioned at 3535 35^th Ave., has been robbed 4 occasions since November, twice when the restaurant was open for enterprise, the outlet famous. Three weeks in the past, robbers reportedly made off with a protected.

Kimberly Garibay, who works throughout the road, mentioned the restaurant’s money registers usually are not the one goal.

“They simply pull up out of nowhere and it’s not like they solely rob the shop. They rob all people in there as properly,” she mentioned. “So it’s not as protected because it was. There’s a whole lot of crime now.”

“It’s simply — what’s Oakland coming to? Everything is getting worse. Things are closing down. You know, it’s simply horrible,” one other resident, Aliyah Musa, instructed KPIX.

Customers can nonetheless eat indoors at a Taco Bell operated by one other franchise proprietor within the metropolis, nonetheless, it has gone cashless in an try to discourage robberies, the outlet reported.

Taco Bell acknowledged adjustments had been being made on the shops in Oakland.

“Providing a protected atmosphere for workforce members and clients is the precedence at Taco Bell eating places,” the corporate mentioned in a press release.

“The franchise proprietor and operator has knowledgeable us that they’re constantly evaluating and dealing to make sure a protected atmosphere by implementing procedures, equivalent to closing eating rooms, and hiring safety guards, they usually have taken further measures to fulfill with native regulation enforcement.”

The Diversified Restaurant Group didn’t touch upon the closures.

Robberies in Oakland spiked 38% in 2023 and burglaries elevated by 23%, based on metropolis knowledge obtained by CNN.

Meanwhile, Taco Bell is barely the newest fast-food chain to close indoor eating in crime-ridden Oakland.

Last 12 months, Raising Cane’s close to the airport closed its eating room because of crime within the space, KRON 4 reported, including that clients can nonetheless order through drive-thru.

In January, In-N-Out introduced it could shut the burger chain’s solely location within the metropolis on March 24 because of the rise in crime – marking the primary time it has been pressured to shutter one in every of its eateries.

Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick cited a collection of robberies of each clients and staff, together with theft and vandalism, for the choice, Newsweek reported.

Denny’s additionally closed its restaurant on Hegenberger Road in January after 54 years, citing “the protection and well-being” of its workers and clients amid the rising crime, KPIX reported.

In addition, a Starbucks outlet within the airport space closed late final 12 months because of repeated automotive burglaries.

Taco Bell mentioned there aren’t any plans to shut down any of the eating places utterly – for now, based on KPIX.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed 120 Highway Patrol officers to the town and the encircling space to try to crack down on crime.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has mentioned the town would do extra to guard the Hegenberger hall space.