As In-n-Out ditches Oakland over increasingly unbearable levels of crime in the deep blue city, America’s diner is following suit and shuttering up over the city’s horrific crime problem. That would be the city’s only Denny’s diner, which has served locals for over five decades but is now on its way out because the crime situation is just too terrible.
The local Denny’s, located on Oakland’s Hegenberg Road, has operated in the location for 54 long years. However, now it is permanently closing because the crime situation has put its staff and diners at far too high a level of risk. It will, however, keep its Bay Area restaurant, located in Emeryville, California, open for now.
Announcing the closure of the Oakland location in a statement to local media, Denny’s announced that the restaurant is now closed and noted how long it has been in operation, saying, “The Denny’s Restaurant located at 601 Hegenberger Road in Oakland is now closed. Denny’s has been honored to serve the Oakland community over the last 54 years.”
Continuing, the statement added that while it did not make the decision lightly, it has to take the safety of its staff and customers seriously and so closing the location became necessary. The statement said, “Closing a restaurant location is never an easy decision or one taken lightly. However, the safety and well-being of Denny’s team members and valued guests is our top priority. Weighing those factors, the decision has been made to close this location.”
It then noted that it will try to employ those who worked at the closing location elsewhere, writing, “Denny’s offers its heartfelt thanks to the team members and the local community for their love of the Denny’s brand; it has been a pleasure serving you. Team members who are able to relocate will be offered positions elsewhere, where available.”
One of the restaurant’s final customers, commenting to local media on the depressing situation, said, “I feel so bad for Oakland because it’s like everybody’s leaving.” Continuing, that customer added, “Oh yeah, I eat here all the time, sometimes [at] midnight. I come here and eat, because [in the] last few years, it was quite good. Just a good place. I feel so bad that they’re leaving, you know?”
Another regular customer commented on what the closure shows about the state of Oakland, saying, “Terrible that Oakland’s like this. This is probably the oldest business on the block, and it’s closing down. It’s sad.” He added, “I’m proud of the Bay, born and raised. It’s sad because when I was out of state, I was proud [of] where I’m from…now, I just shake my head because of all the crime going on.”
Here’s the report the local media put out on the matter:
In-N-Out, commenting on the closure of its Oakland restaurant, its first closure ever, said, “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.”
Continuing, it added, “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.” It then said, “All affected Associates will have the opportunity to transfer to a nearby In-N-Out location or, alternatively, receive a severance package.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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