STRIPPED BACK
‘That’s when I decided it was time to close’ fast food chain owner says after ‘dangerous’ crime proved to tipping point
He explained why he closed one location but kept his others open
A FAST food chain owner said he was forced to close one of his stores due to crime in the area.
Todd Johnson, the owner of Strip’s Chicken, promptly shut one of his Kansas City, Missouri spots.
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Johnson opened his 420 W. 85th St., in the Waldo neighborhood of the city, branch three years ago but listed it as closed at the start of May.
The business owner said several factors influenced him but crime tipped him over the edge, according to The Kansas City Star.
“I had eight break-ins in two years, and the only reason we haven’t had any since last summer is because we stopped taking cash,” he said.
Johnson owned and operated two other Strip’s Chicken locations in Kansas.
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He said crime has not been an issue at his other spots.
“My store in Olathe’s been open for eight years with no burglaries,” he said.
“It’s very easy to see that Kansas City has a major problem when you just can drive 15 miles away and we don’t deal with any of this.”
His Strip’s Chicken locations in Olathe and Merriam have remained open.
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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 supposedly in the bathroom doing drugs.
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The business owner said his staff was hesitant about cleaning up the toilet as they were worried about fentanyl poisoning.
“And I thought about it for a second and I said, ‘You’re right. That is dangerous. You shouldn’t have to do that.’
“And that’s really when I decided it was time to close the restaurant.”
Johnson also complained that rising crime had greatly increased his insurance costs in Waldo.
Restaurant closures in 2024
BOSSES at major dining chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of the chain's affected.
- Cracker Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina, and Sacramento, California, have closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically shuttered 27 shops, including in the state of California.
- Frisch's Big Boy: Restaurant chiefs confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky.
- Two Bucks: Four restaurants in Ohio are set to close.
- Chili's: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has shut permanently.
- Friendly's: Bosses confirmed an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March.
- Denny's: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
- Carl's Jr.: The first Boise, Idaho location has closed.
“I’ve never even submitted a claim,” he said.
“In two years, the insurance on our building in Waldo has gone from $9,000 a year to $16,000 a year to now, if I would have renewed in June, $22,000 a year.”
He added that his other locations were hit with slight insurance increases but alleged an agent told him why Waldo was hit hardest.
“In Olathe and Merriam, we’ve gone up, too, but only by like 10 or 15% a year,” Johnson said.
“The agent told me it’s because of all the crime in the area.
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“I talked to two other insurers who said they won’t even write policies in this neighborhood anymore.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Kansas City Police Department for comment.
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