Lynsi Snyder, the granddaughter of In-N-Out Burger’s founders and the chain’s CEO, confirmed that the decision to close its only Oakland location earlier this year was because the area surrounding the restaurant was “absolutely dangerous.”
“I mean, there was a lot,” Snyder explained in an interview with Marissa Streit from PragerU. “There was actually — gunshots went through the store, there was a stabbing, there was a lot.”
Snyder went on to explain that the company shut down the location “for the safety of our associates” because “we just felt like, this is not OK.”
The burger chain announced back in January that it would be closing the location, which had been in operation for 18 years. By March, it shut down for good, marking the first time in the company’s 75-year history that a location was permanently shuttered.
In the company’s announcement back in January, the company’s chief operation officer cited the high rates of crime in the city, particularly threatening customers and employees at the location.
“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,” Denny Warnick explained.
“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 added. Although the location was profitable, the persistent crime in Oakland reportedly made it untenable for the business to continue operating. Employees were offered severance packages or the opportunity to transfer to other locations. According to a report by SFGate, the building is still vacant and is currently being listed for sale at $4 million.
