Car break-ins force Raising Cane's to close Oakland dining room
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Raising Cane's in Oakland closed its dining room this week due to crime. They are only allowing drive-thru service.
"After several car break-ins in our parking lot, as well as numerous other robberies in the neighborhood, we proactively made the decision to close our dining room and operate our business through the drive-thru only," the company told ABC7 News in a statement.
INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker
Crime in Oakland is hurting businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic. From fast food chains to local owned stores, many say the crime is keeping people out of Oakland.
"It is a daily occurrence crime in terms of vandalism and break-ins," said Nigel Jones, the owner of Calabash and Kingston 11 in Uptown Oakland. "We have people who come in, have a good meal and good time, but they go back to their cars after and see their windows shattered."
Jones says that keeps people away from eating at his restaurant. However, even if people come to eat at his restaurant, he sometimes doesn't have enough servers for them. He says many left in the pandemic and haven't returned.
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"It is a transient workforce," he said. "Even if you have a good hand this week, next week may not be the same. So you are constantly having to think about replenishing your workforce."
Jones admits it is not an easy time owning a restaurant in Oakland. Not only is the industry struggling with a lack of workers, Jones says the constant crime means less people are eating at his restaurants. He hopes the city comes up with a good solution.
"We need a combination for a lot things in terms of social and other community intervention to solve this problem," he said.
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