Beloved Oakland Barbecue Restaurant Robbed Twice in Successive Nights

Beloved Oakland Barbecue Restaurant Robbed Twice in Successive NightsShow more

Oakland's beloved barbecue restaurant, Everett and Jones, was hit with two burglaries on successive nights last week. The family-owned restaurant on Broadway, an institution for 50 years, was robbed around 3:30 a.m. last Monday. The burglar broke a window by the restaurant's side door, went through the store, kicked in the office door, and took a power saw to the door of the safe. The thief was unable to saw through the safe, so they took a cash box and a smaller safe containing a few thousand dollars.

The next morning, the restaurant on Jack London Square was robbed again in "almost the exact same scenario," said cook Henry Rhodes. "He busted one window out, and the next day he busted the window next to that one." This time, the thief brought a tool used by welders to gain access to the larger safe, making off with all the cash receipts for the day.

According to co-owner Nina Moore, who was able to record the first burglary on video, the thief was in the store for about five minutes, while the second burglary lasted only a minute. Both break-ins are being investigated by the Oakland Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to contact the burglary unit at 510-238-3951.

The sisters, who operate two Oakland locations and one in Antioch, are trying to raise money through GoFundMe to replace the larger safe's broken door, along with the office door that was kicked down and two broken windows. They also plan to upgrade the security system.

Everett and Jones was started by their grandmother 50 years ago, and their mother, Dorothy King Jernigan, who died of breast cancer two years ago, left the business to the third generation. Another Everett and Jones, in Berkeley, is operated by a cousin. Moore said, "With all the crime that is happening in Oakland, we still felt secure. This was devastating to us."

Despite the break-ins, the Oakland restaurant, an institution for 50 years, was open for business as usual on Sunday morning. "We are the third generation, and we are definitely going to keep it going to hand it over the fourth generation," Moore said. On Saturday night, a group of men Moore did not know arrived at the Jack London location to provide a measure of security, walking customers to their cars.

In conclusion, the Everett and Jones' break-ins are yet another example of the increase in crime in Oakland. As a family-owned business, they are working hard to recover from the financial and emotional loss they've suffered. The incident also shows how important it is to have a good security system in place, especially in areas where crime rates are high. Hopefully, the Oakland Police Department can find the person responsible for these burglaries soon.