Oakland 7-Eleven stores struggle to hire cashiers amid ongoing robberies

By Da Lin

Robbers have repeatedly targeted 7-Eleven stores across Oakland that frustrated store owners said the crime is making it nearly impossible to hire employees, especially for overnight shifts.

The latest hold-up occurred Thursday morning at 4:40 a.m. at the MacArthur Boulevard 7-Eleven in the Dimond District, where the lone cashier ran to the back room for safety as two robbers forcefully pulled open the locked front doors to take boxes of cigarettes and the cash register.

The store, which operates 24/7, keeps its doors locked overnight so cashiers can manually screen each customer — a precaution that has become standard for some stores due to repeated robberies.

Amardeep Brar, better known as A.D., is a board director with the American Petroleum & Convenience Store Association, which represents gas stations and convenience stores. He said the impact of these robberies goes beyond financial loss.

“After every time we get hit, it’s hard to find employees. Whenever the business gets hit, robbed at gunpoint or with major damage, those employees do not come back to work,” Brar said.

Although Brar does not own the Dimond District store, he owns a nearby 7-Eleven that was robbed just two months ago. He said staffing overnight shifts has become increasingly difficult, requiring higher pay to attract cashiers. Starting pay for Oakland 7-Eleven cashiers is $17 an hour.

“These jobs are minimum wage.  And who will put their lives on the line, right, especially the night shift,” Brar said.

Back in April, an Oakland 7-Eleven clerk quit on the spot after being robbed twice in his first month. Speaking anonymously to CBS News Bay Area, he described the attacks.

“They started hitting me [on my head,] then they forced me to open the cash register,” he said.

The wave of robberies in recent years has led corporate 7-Eleven to close its last company-owned location in Oakland last year, leaving all city stores under franchise ownership, mostly operated by Southeast Asian immigrants. Brar said insurance costs have nearly doubled in California, sometimes discouraging store owners from reporting incidents for fear of losing coverage.

Franchise owners have tried shortening hours and increasing security, but robberies continue. In 2023, a robber shot and killed a beloved 7-Eleven security guard at a store near Lake Merritt, underscoring the dangers employees face.

Councilmember Charlene Wang of District 2 acknowledged the concerns of store owners while highlighting the city’s efforts to address crime.

“I feel your pain, and I want to acknowledge that it is real. At the same time, crime levels are coming down, and we have a new generation of city council leadership that is really seeking to put public safety at the top level. It’s my top priority,” Wang said.

She added that the city is working to hire more officers and dispatchers to improve police response times. “Our Priority 1 phone calls, the police response time is nine minutes. The national standard is five minutes. We need to get that down,” she said.

Customers also worry about losing their local stores if crime persists.

“If they close down, we’ve got to travel farther and it’ll be more difficult,” said customer Cinthia Freeman.

“The people from the community are the ones that are hurting the most,” said Mark Garcia, another customer.

Brar said closing stores would be a last resort. 

“Being in Oakland is a challenge. But we love our city, we don’t want to leave. We want to continue to do business here,” he said.

No arrests have been made in Thursday’s robbery, and while city officials report that crime overall is decreasing, business owners remain wary as thieves continue to treat their stores like ATMs.