Denny's closes its 54-year-old Oakland restaurant over safety concerns, days after In-N-Out announced plans to do the same

• Denny's has closed its only diner in Oakland, California over safety concerns.
• This comes hot on the heels of In-N-Out Burger's announcement that it's closing its Oakland restaurant.

Denny's has closed its only restaurant in Oakland, California because of concerns about customer and staff safety.

"Closing a restaurant location is never an easy decision or one taken lightly," a spokesperson for the diner chain told Business Insider. "However, the safety and well-being of Denny's team members and valued guests is our top priority. Weighing those factors, the decision has been made to close this location."

The spokesperson added that team members who could relocate would be offered positions elsewhere, where available.

Denny's didn't respond to BI's request for information on the measures it took to keep staff and diners safe.

Denny's said the 24-hour diner had been open for 54 years. It was located close to Oakland International Airport and Oakland Arena.

The announcement came just over a week after cult West Coast burger chain In-N-Out Burger said that it will close its Oakland restaurant in March.

COO Denny Warnick attributed to the "frequency and severity" of crimes experienced by its customers and staff. The company said that these included car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies.

This will be the first time In-N-Out has ever had to close a restaurant.

The Denny's and In-N-Out restaurants are located just under a mile from each other.

Data from the city's most recent crime report shows that the number of reported robberies between January 1 and January 28 was up 10% over the three-year average.

However, the same dataset suggests that reported incidents of many other types of crime, such as burglaries, car theft, and larceny, had fallen.