Not lengthy after Bay Space information retailers reported Monday that Ayesha Curry was closing her Candy July retailer in Oakland, “in order to prioritize the safety” of consumers and employees, the story went nationwide in publications which might be comfortable to painting town as so overrun by crime and chaos that it has pushed out one in every of its favourite celeb entrepreneurs.
Maybe unwittingly, Curry, a longtime advocate of town, has contributed to the adverse narrative about what the Day by day Mail calls “lawless Oakland.” That isn’t sitting properly with some residents and enterprise house owners who say town has been making optimistic modifications up to now 12 months, particularly with a reported 33% drop in violent and property crimes in 2024 from the 12 months earlier than.
In addition they query whether or not Curry’s Uptown house items retailer and cafe was struggling for causes apart from crime and “safety,” together with what they are saying was an absence of buyer “foot traffic” at its twenty third Road location, between Broadway and Telegraph Avenue.
“Just because (the Sweet July store) is closing, it doesn’t mean it has something to do with crime,” stated Ken Houston, government director of the nonprofit Beautification Council, which cleans up areas round encampments. “It could be financial. It could (just) be not working. Just because she’s a Curry doesn’t mean that her business operation was financially viable.”
“Things are changing but people like to put the negative on top of it because they’ve got to have an ugly duckling and they’re trying to make Oakland an ugly duckling,” Houston continued.
The entrepreneurial spouse of Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry opened her flagship retailer and cafe in Oakland for her Candy July retail model in 2021. On the time, she stated the brick-and-mortar house can be her “love letter” to the “town that has embraced and supported her.” The cookbook writer, restaurateur, TV chef and life-style influencer additionally defined that the model’s title comes from the month of her wedding ceremony to Steph Curry and the month through which three of her 4 youngsters had been born. In an interview, Curry stated she selected a storefront in a two-block hall between Broadway and Telegraph as a result of the realm housed different companies owned by Black ladies. She aimed for her retailer to be a life-style “hub” and “community,” providing merchandise and concepts “for the home and the self,” on a variety of subjects, together with “food, beauty, wellness, faith, style, female empowerment and entrepreneurship.”
However 4 years later, Candy July’s Oakland storefront dream has ended as the corporate introduced on Instagram that it had “made the difficult decision to close” the situation as of Feb. 9, as a consequence of “safety” considerations. The publish stated, “We have loved being a part of Oakland and are grateful for the community that has opened their arms and embraced us. It has been an honor to serve you.”
Representatives for Ayesha Curry and Candy July didn’t reply to a request for details about particular incidents that spurred security considerations. Oakland police reported one incident, an Oct. 1, 2022 housebreaking throughout which a thief shattered a entrance glass window and took a number of gadgets from the shop. Finish-of-2024 statistics from the Oakland police present that total crime in “Area 2,” or Uptown and North Oakland, was down 38% from the earlier 12 months, with a 25% drop in violent crime and robberies and burglaries down 17% and 51%, respectively.
In the meantime, it seems that Curry discovered what seems to be a amenable location to open her second Candy July cafe. She opened a restaurant within the luxurious Regent Lodge in Santa Monica, Essence reported.
The shop closure’s has spurred a variety of reactions, from individuals on-line and in response to queries from this information group. Some lamented that crime, or what they understand as an absence of metropolis assist, may have performed a task within the retailer’s closure. “Your beautiful space was a much needed bright light in the City of Oakland,” one individual stated.
Clothes designer Taylor Jay expressed sympathy for the shop’s scenario, as she stated that two break-ins compelled her to shut her model’s brick-and-mortar location in Rockridge in 2024. She stated the lack of Candy July and different close by Black-owned companies on Broadway symbolize greater than financial losses. “They’re cultural losses, stripping Oakland of the very essence that has made it such a vibrant and community driven city,” stated Jay
Whereas Jay acknowledged that the departure of high-profile companies creates the notion that town is “a lost cause,” she stated this narrative “isn’t the full picture.” She’s stored the doorways open at her Broadway location, a couple of block from Candy July, “not just as a business but as a pillar of resilience for the community. I believe in this city, and I know that thriving here is still possible with the right support.”
Others expressed anger that Candy July appeared to wrongly blame town for its woes. One critic stated they’d operated two profitable house retails shops in Oakland for almost twenty years, writing that Oakland is “a great city with incredible business.” This individual additionally stated, “Shame on @sweetjuly for bashing our town!”
In interviews with this information group, a number of individuals who reside or function companies close by didn’t see the neighborhood as unsafe, even with a close-by encampment for unhoused individuals. “It’s a beautiful community,” stated Nanette Mervin, the proprietor of Wire and Firm classic furnishings store on the nook of twenty third Road and Telegraph. “We’ve had our problems but I haven’t seen an uptick in crime. I just feel like the media is scaring people away from Oakland.”
Isaac Pena, the assistant neighborhood director for Gallery 459, which manages a number of condo buildings within the space, together with one subsequent door to Candy July, additionally stated he hasn’t observed something “out of the ordinary,” crime-wise. Actually, Pena stated he thought that Candy July had addressed its considerations by having safety guards often posted on the enterprise.
A gross sales and advertising and marketing government who has lived in the identical block as Candy July since earlier than it opened stated she by no means felt that the shop tried to combine itself into the neighborhood. She faulted the shop for not at all times retaining common enterprise hours and charging “ridiculous” costs for some items, corresponding to $130 for a hoodie with the Candy July emblem. She added that Curry didn’t appear to be a lot of a presence, and solely remembers her turning up when the shop closed down the road for her to do a photograph shoot.
Candy July has not shared whether or not different components performed a task in its resolution to shut, together with challenges which have beset many brick-and-mortar retailers. Journalists even have chronicled how an organization’s affiliation with a well-known title doesn’t assure success, reporting on an over-saturated world marketplace for star-sponsored manufacturers and noting that even Gwyneth Paltrow, the unique celeb life-style guru, has struggled lately with lay-offs and retailer closures at her Goop firm.
Others marvel if Curry simply has a lot happening throughout a plethora of industries. She’s identified for her cookbooks, TV appearances, Worldwide Smoke restaurant partnership with chef Michael Mina and her philanthropy with Steph Curry on behalf of Oakland faculties. In the meantime, her Candy July model encompasses a manufacturing firm, a publishing home, a quarterly journal and a skincare line. Haute Magnificence reported in January that she may wish to do some appearing. Two days after Candy July introduced the shop’s closure, she and her sister-in-law Sydel Curry-Lee had been featured in Bon Apetit, speaking about balancing parenthood with working their luxurious Domaine Curry vineyard.
Critics additionally identified that Curry’s companies don’t at all times succeed, along with her and Mina’s Worldwide Smoke empire closing 5 places since 2016. The newest closure on the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was introduced earlier this month, leaving simply the San Francisco restaurant.
Employees author Harry Harris contributed to this report.
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