KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An increase in crime has caused a small business owner in Waldo to close their doors.
Todd Johnson made the decision to shut down the Waldo location of Strip’s Chicken earlier this week. Since opening in 2021, he said the restaurant has seen its fair share of ups and downs.
“Here, we were open just a little over two years. We had eight break-ins,” he said.
Sitting at the corner of Wornall and 85th, Johnson said the restaurant ran into a lot of issues with crime. Each time there was a break-in, he said it was someone new.
“It was a nuisance, completely a nuisance,” he said. “It’s just frustrating to get an alarm call at 3:30 in the morning and have to come over and board your building up.”
So, Johnson increased security measures and stopped taking cash – hoping the break-ins would stop.
Still, the problems persisted.
“We still had a lot of homeless people in, and we’ve got a bus station next door. People come in and, you know, steal sodas and things like that,” he said. “In the last few weeks, it just seemed like we were having a lot more drama with people in our dining room.”
After a few back-to-back issues involving the police, Johnson made the call.
“So, I just decided to close it. I’m like, yeah, we shouldn’t have to put up with that. So, we closed immediately and that was it,” he said.
Another big issue, he said was his insurance rates more than doubled in a matter of two years.
Now, it’s cleaning up and clearing out as Johnson narrows his focus to his two other Strip’s Chicken locations, with a third opening soon, in Johnson County. He said his restaurants there have significantly better track records than the one in Waldo.
“Crime is everywhere. Homelessness is everywhere. But you know, the difference between eight break-ins in two years versus zero break-ins in eight years is dramatic,” he said.
As for the employees of the Waldo location, he said most were able to transfer to their Johnson County restaurants.
Source: KMBC9