Ayesha Curry's Sweet July store closing in Oakland sparked narratives positioning the city negatively amid perceived crime issues. However, local leaders argue that Oakland has experienced a 33% decline in violent and property crimes in 2024. Many feel that the store's struggles were due to factors like lack of foot traffic rather than crime. Community voices emphasize that while Curry's closure gets attention, it oversimplifies the progress and changes underway in the city, contradicting the portrayal of Oakland as a chaotic environment.
Just because the Sweet July store is closing, it doesn't mean it has something to do with crime. It could be financial. It could just be not working.
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.
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