Oakland businesses set to close for a day to protest rising crime
Several Oakland businesses are expected to participate in a one-day strike Tuesday, protesting rising crime in the city and calling on officials to help struggling merchants.
The strike is set to start at 10 a.m. with a news conference at Le Cheval, a downtown restaurant that announced it is closing after 38 years due to crime and slow sales post-pandemic, according to a flyer distributed by the local NAACP chapter.
Some merchants plan to close their doors for the whole day, while others just for a couple of hours, said Carl Chan, a public safety advocate in Chinatown. He said a majority of businesses participating are small convenience stores, as well as restaurants throughout the city. Chan declined Sunday to provide a full list of the businesses participating in the strike.
“We’re not just here to complain, we want to offer some solutions as well,” Chan told the Chronicle last week. “We’re hoping that we can get the needed support (for) our business community.”
The one-day strike comes as city leaders are facing pressure from business owners and residents to address public safety concerns, and criticism for missing a grant deadline to receive millions in state funding to help police combat organized retail theft. Merchants said they feel the city isn’t doing enough to lower crime, which they said is preventing customers from shopping at their businesses.
The City Council passed a resolution Tuesday directing the city administrator to come up with recommendations on how to hire and retain more 911 dispatchers and police officers, expand violence prevention programs, and create a grant program to help local businesses buy security cameras. The recommendations are due to the City Council by December.
Mayor Sheng Thao has also announced a new events-sponsorship program, called Activate Oakland, that will offer $400,000 in grant money for events to boost foot traffic in the city’s business centers and help revitalize downtown. “When we activate our streets, this is how we keep each other safe,” Thao said at a news conference.
City spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday’s strike.
Nigel Jones, chef and owner of restaurant Calabash, said he’s closing his Uptown restaurant all day Tuesday in solidarity with other merchants. He said his other business, Kingston 11, a restaurant-turned-event and catering space, was burglarized two weeks ago, resulting in $3,500 worth of damages and stolen cash.
“The restaurants are suffering,” Jones told the Chronicle on Sunday. “Oakland as a city is struggling tremendously, and I feel that at this point, myself and all of the business community are the canary in the coal mine, so to speak.”
Jones said businesses closing because of low foot traffic, slow post-pandemic sales and crime is a “systemic problem” that city officials need to address. He said he would like to see more workers downtown and more safe and secured parking lots with attendants, which could bring relief to customers who are afraid their cars may get burglarized.
The owners of restaurants Calavera and Todos and the retail store Renegade Running confirmed that they are participating in the strike. The restaurant owners said they can afford to close for only two hours, given the already low foot traffic at their restaurants.
“We’re just seeing all of our peers close or leave because it’s just not tenable to do business right now,” said Ryan Dixon, co-owner of Calavera. “It’s really disheartening.”