Oakland restaurants are losing thousands every week because customers’ cars and jewelry are stolen while they eat – and locals are now avoiding downtown.
Violent crime is rampant in the Democratic-run California city, and business owners have begun comparing the area to a “battlefield” similar to the Vietnam War.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is therefore facing a recall. Hundreds of locals have formed a group called “Save Alameda for Everyone” to oust Price from her position because of her soft stance on crime.
That same weekend, two popular restaurants closed their doors after years of operation because of continued car thefts and violent crime on their doorsteps.
French-Vietnamese restaurant Le Cheval closed its doors after 38 years, as did Galeto Brazilian Steakhouse on the same block.
Armed robbers are seen trying to steal a car in Oakland. Violent crime is rampant in the California city, with business owners now comparing the area to a “battlefield” similar to the Vietnam War
A robber is seen carjacking a vehicle on the streets of Oakland. The total number of armed robberies in Oakland this year has reached 1,282, a 43 percent increase since this time last year
Vehicle thefts are up nearly 50 percent, home burglaries are up 65 percent — and Oakland police say they have arrested seven people in a special operation targeting car thieves
Galeto’s owner Eli Nascimento said it was “a defiant crime” that caused him to quit. He remembered how his host was robbed outside the restaurant with three guns to his head. He gave up because he couldn’t take it anymore.
Other small business owners, including shop owners and gas station workers, had previously announced a one-day strike to show how out-of-control crime is impacting the local economy.
Derreck Johnson, owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles, said, “Every day we fight not to want to lay off our employees.”
“I witnessed a group from Miami being robbed at gunpoint on a Saturday afternoon and having all of their jewelry taken away.” That shouldn’t be my priority. “It shouldn’t be my job to make sure my customers are safe while they walk the streets of Oakland.”
Many of Johnson’s guests had their luggage stolen from their cars or were robbed at gunpoint as they entered and exited the restaurant.
The total number of armed robberies in Oakland this year has reached 1,282, a 43 percent increase since this time last year.
At the same time, vehicle thefts are up nearly 50 percent and home burglaries are up 65 percent — and Oakland police say they have arrested seven people in a special operation targeting car thieves.
Johnson, who opened his restaurant 20 years ago, previously told Fox, “It’s gotten to the point where individuals are actually being robbed at gunpoint, and that’s really affecting our business.”
Derreck Johnson, owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles, said, “Every day we struggle with not wanting to lay off our employees.”
Le Cheval was a popular institution in the city, but was closed due to rising crime rates
The Brazilian steakhouse Galeto in Oakland was forced to close due to the crime
“Our sales are very low, I’m talking to neighboring businesses… it’s time to come together and find a solution so that our business is no longer impacted because people just don’t feel safe coming downtown or in the Jack London area.”
“Not a day goes by that I don’t see someone stealing something from someone’s car in Jack London.” What makes me feel handcuffed is that there’s nothing I can do about it.
“If I say something, I might get shot… Do we want to live like that?” I don’t want to live like that.
“Small businesses are the heartbeat of Oakland, small businesses are the largest employers in Oakland, and it is very important that the city, the state, the county, everyone recognizes how important small businesses are.”
“I had to subsidize the last two payrolls because sales were so slow. People just don’t feel comfortable. “It doesn’t appear to be an area where this type of crime would take place in broad daylight.”
CCTV footage from outside companies has flooded social media in recent months, showing armed car thieves breaking into vehicles – and sometimes injuring passers-by.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price faces recall due to chaos in the city. Hundreds of locals have formed a group called “Save Alameda for Everyone” to oust Price from her position because of her soft stance on crime
In October, police said they were investigating an armed robbery in Oakland in which a man who tried to help the first victim was shot.
In August of this year, a shocking video emerged showing a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged across the gravel by two thugs in Democratic-run Oakland.
The attack occurred on Wednesday, August 16, at 6:15 p.m. on International Boulevard and left the unidentified woman with serious injuries, said the investigating police in the city of East Bay.
The footage shows the woman being confronted by two men who attempt to take several items from her, including her handbag, before she is severely beaten with the weapon.
She is then seen falling to the ground before being dragged by her handbag as both men rummage through her bags.
Oakland is being hit by increasing incidents of violence, with assaults, carjackings and robberies reaching record levels not seen since the 1990s.
As frightened business owners compare the area to something out of a war movie, leaders of the NAACP’s Oakland branch have urged officials to declare a state of emergency – as carjackings and carjackings have nearly doubled since 2021.
Speaking to several local news outlets over the weekend, Bruce Vuong, a Vietnamese national who runs an auto repair shop just blocks from where the woman was abused, compared the area to his country during the infamous war.
Ironically, the neighborhood is already called Little Saigon.
“Oakland has become a war zone,” Vuong, who has owned and operated Quality Tech Automotive Shop on International for 35 years, told ABC’s local affiliate.
More robberies from across Oakland
Two gunmen attempt to steal a vehicle, as seen on video surveillance
“It feels like a battleground to go to work,” he said, noting that despite all his years of experience — dating back to the city’s notorious gang violence in the 1990s — crime has fallen in the last two years or so still high was unprecedented.
Police also recently warned of a “rise in the number of home robberies,” including cases in which gun-toting robbers kick down doors before threatening homeowners and stealing their belongings.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) said some of the hardest hit areas include Laurel, North Hills, Joaquin Miller and the greater San Antonio area.
Left-leaning Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, in office since November 2022, promised when elected to create a “comprehensive” public safety plan that will “double down” on violence prevention programs.
Last year, her predecessor, Libby Schaaf, admitted that efforts to defund her city’s police force had “gone too far” after violent crime rose to levels seen in 15 years following the movement’s launch in the summer of 2020 no longer.
Her comments came after the City Council passed a resolution in 2021 to cut $17 million in funding to its police department despite a 90 percent increase in homicides – a move criticized by Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who said at the time: “Crime is over.” “Control” in the city.
“When we saw this surge during the pandemic — and, let’s be honest, even after George Floyd, after this country just saw its trust in the government’s justice system compromised — we were just heartbroken,” Schaaf added.
But crime in the city has only gotten worse since then.