By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-25 15:38:40 | Updated at 2024-12-26 02:54:56
11 hours ago
The billionaire owner of In-N-Out Burger has revealed the shocking wave of violence that forced her to shut down the chain's Oakland restaurant.
Lynsi Snyder revealed it was the 'absolutely dangerous' conditions that led to the unprecedented closure of the popular burger joint - the first permanent shutdown in the company's 76-year history.
In an interview with PragerU, she described 300 out of 365 days of violence in a single year - including stabbings and gunshots ripping through the building.
'Out of 365 days, I think almost 300 days there was some type of event,' Snyder said to PragerU.
'There were, car burglaries, violence, theft, there was a lot,' she said. 'Gun shots went through the store, stabbings - it was huge.'
'The amount of time it would take for the police to get there was alarming,' Snyder added.
'For the safety of our associates, it was just not okay.'
The restaurant, which had become a magnet for crime in the area, was forced to close its doors in March after police logged a staggering 1,335 criminal incidents in its location since 2019 - making it Oakland's most dangerous business location.
The billionaire owner of In-N-Out Burger has revealed the shocking wave of violence that forced her to shut down the chain's Oakland restaurant
Lynsi Snyder revealed it was the 'absolutely dangerous' conditions that led to the unprecedented closure of the popular burger joint - the first permanent shutdown in the company's 76-year history
The crime wave included 1,174 car break-ins, nine robberies, two commercial burglaries, and four domestic violence incidents.
The Oakland location, situated on a busy route to the airport and near the Oakland A's stadium, had been a local staple until crime made operations untenable.
In January, Denny Warnick, In-N-Out's chief operating officer, announced the news in a statement.
'We have made the decision to close our In-N-Out Burger location in Oakland, California, due to ongoing issues with crime,' Warnick wrote in a statement.
The company said it has taken 'repeated steps to create safer conditions our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized.'
'We feel the frequency and severity of the crimes being encountered by our customers and associates leave us no alternative,' Warnick said.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao had promised increased police presence in the area, but for In-N-Out, the damage was already done.
'As mayor, I have prioritized this critical gateway to Oakland,' Thao told the Oakland-based television station KTUV-TV at the time.
In an interview with PragerU , she described 300 out of 365 days of violence in a single year - including stabbings and gunshots ripping through the building
Cars near the In-N-Out are often the target of robberies
The In-N-Out sits near Oakland Airport, and as such is a perfect target for thieves
She explained that Oakland police had three cameras placed to monitor the area.
After Oakland's location closed, another In-N-Out franchise closed in California - but only temporarily.
The iconic In-N-Out Burger location on Sunset Boulevard and North Orange Drive in Hollywood - a popular post-Oscars hangout for many a celebrity - announced that the restaurant would be closed for a couple days in March 'for routine termite treatment and prevention.'
The Hollywood In-N-Out Burger had a tent over the restaurant and it was fenced off, KTLA 5 reported.
The In-N-Out Burger in Hollywood is one of the fast-food chain's 286 restaurants in California, all of which are open seven days a week.
Earlier this month, terrified customers captured the bizarre moment a crazed knife-wielding man stabbed the windows of an In-N-Out restaurant on Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks - a neighborhood located in the city of Los Angeles.
A man wearing nothing but black joggers and sneakers began chaotically stabbing the large windows of the establishment from outside - startling customers who were eating directly on the other side of the glass.
The In-N-Out sits in a square mile with several gas stations that cops say are the targets of around a dozen violent crimes every day
Video footage showed the fully-clothed, unnamed man lying face-up on the pavement just feet away from the front door as a security guard stood over him - all while several customers huddled together on the other side of the glass to watch.
But the next recorded clip captured the same man - this time without his shirt - as he walked around the parking lot before approaching the windows with a sharp knife.
'Oh sh**, bro got a knife,' the person filming can be heard saying. 'This went from fun to dangerous real quick.'
The video showed the man walking from window to window attempting to stab the glass - all while patrons quickly moved away from their tables and an employee stood by the door on the phone.
A security guard was then captured right outside of the front door where he pushed the shirtless man - who appeared to be more aggressive - away from both himself and the entry to the restaurant.
