Taco Bell shutting off dining areas due to “safety” concerns in major US city
Wikimedia CommonsAll Taco Bell restaurants found in a major US city will close their dining areas due to concerns over the “safety” of customers.
Whether it be going through a drive-through or sitting down at a restaurant, grabbing a bite to eat is something that should be a quick, safe, and simple process.
However, this is currently not the case for Taco Bell consumers across the city of Oakland. In light of a recent increase in street-related crimes across the city, fast food chain Taco Bell has revealed that they will be shutting down the dining areas of all Taco Bells in the city.
This drastic change came about after Oakland’s only In-And-Out restaurant confirmed it would be shutting down after multiple customers reported various instances in which their cars were broken into or damaged in some way.
Chief Operating Officer Denny Warwick revealed the reasoning in a statement to Fox 2.
“Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our customers and associates are regularly victimized. 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.
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.”
Taco Bell now finds itself in a similar position, a representative from the company told NBC Bay Area “The franchise owner is working on safety by closing dining rooms, hiring security guards, and meeting with local law enforcement.”
However, not everyone from the Oakland area believes crime is the reason for Taco Bell deciding to shut down their dining area.
Oakland Council member Janani Ramachandran told NBC Bay Area, “We have award-winning restaurants within a block of that Taco Bell…I see this as potentially a sign that there is a lot more competition from the small, more local businesses.”
It is unclear how long the dining area of Taco Bell stores across Oakland will be shut down for. However, we’ll be sure to keep you updated if there are any new developments.