The owner of a FAST food chain said he was forced to close one of his stores due to crime in the area.
Todd Johnson, owner of Strip’s Chicken, immediately closed one of his locations in Kansas City, Missouri.
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Johnson opened his branch at 420 W. 85th St. in the city’s Waldo neighborhood three years ago but listed it as closed in early May.
The business owner said several factors influenced him, but the crime pushed him over the edge, according to The Kansas City Star.
“I’ve had eight break-ins in two years, and the only reason we haven’t had one since last summer is because we stopped taking money,” he said.
Johnson owned and operated two other Strip’s Chicken stores in Kansas.
He said crime has not been a problem at his other locations.
“My store in Olathe has been open for eight years and there have been no robberies,” he said.
“It’s pretty easy to see that Kansas City has a big problem when you can only drive 15 miles away and we haven’t dealt with any of it.”
Its Strip’s Chicken stores in Olathe and Merriam remained open.
He shared that a recent incident at his Waldo store made him consider closing.
Johnson recalled that the store had to call the police after a woman was allegedly in the bathroom using drugs.
The business owner said his staff was hesitant to clean the bathroom because they were worried about fentanyl poisoning.
“And I thought about it for a second and said, ‘You’re right. This is dangerous. You shouldn’t have to do this.
“And that’s when I decided it was time to close the restaurant.”
Johnson also complained that the rise in crime has greatly increased his insurance costs in Waldo.
Restaurant Closings in 2024
BOSSes of major restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun compiled a list of those affected by the network.
- Biscuit Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California, closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses drastically closed 27 stores, including in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant bosses have confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky.
- Two dolars: Four restaurants in Ohio are set to close.
- Pepper: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has closed permanently.
- Friendly: Bosses have confirmed that an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March.
- Danny: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, has closed.
“I never filed a complaint,” he said.
“In two years, the insurance for our building in Waldo went from $9,000 a year to $16,000 a year, so far, if I had renewed in June, $22,000 a year.”
He added that his other locations were hit with slight insurance increases, but claimed an agent told him why Waldo was hit the hardest.
“In Olathe and Merriam, we also went up, but only about 10 or 15 percent a year,” Johnson said.
“The officer told me it’s because of all the crime in the area.
“I spoke to two other insurance companies who said they will no longer issue policies in this neighborhood.”
The US Sun has reached out to the Kansas City Police Department for comment.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
