Multiple Taco Bell locations in Oakland, Calif., have reportedly closed indoor dining, becoming the latest fast-food outlets to make changes because of crime.
Large signs were posted on windows at four locations, saying “Dining Room Closed,” according to the Daily Mail. One restaurant had boarded up one of its windows with plywood.
A Taco Bell employee at one location told TV station KRON4, “It’s closed because some people sometimes make trouble.”
Some pedestrians have attempted to order by walking up to the drive-thru window but were turned down, according to KRON4.
Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb said he suspects the locations are being targeted by criminals.
“It’s not so much that it’s near the airport as it is by the freeway,” he was quoted as saying to KRON4. “Business corridors that are near freeway onramps are targets.”
Taco Bell’s corporate office did not respond to a request for comment.
Indoor dining at the Taco Bell location on Telegraph Avenue, co-located with Kentucky Fried Chicken, will remain open, according to the Daily Mail.
The company is the latest to close its dining rooms while crime continues to escalate in Oakland. Last year, the popular chicken-finger chain Raising Cane’s closed its dining room at its East Oakland location out of safety concerns, according to news reports.
“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 last March.
In January, California’s famous burger chain In-N-Out closed its only store in Oakland after 18 years, citing repeated crime and safety issues, according to an announcement made by Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick.
“We have made the decision to close our In-N-Out Burger location in Oakland, California, due to ongoing issues with crime,” Mr. Warnick said in a statement at the time. “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.
The restaurant will close the location March 24, Mr. Warnick said.
Denny’s also boarded up its restaurant in Oakland Jan. 31 over concerns over safety for workers and customers. The restaurant had been open at the site for more than half a century. Since closing, the building has been vandalized with graffiti.
