Jack In The Box: Burgers Are Not to Blame for Brutality

What is it about cheap tacos that make people do crazy things?

​Late-night burgers might make you fat, but they don't turn you into a sociopath.

While the Richmond District Jack in the Box fights to keep serving hammered and hungry patrons at all hours of the night, residents are pushing to make sure the fast-food chain closes its doors after 2 a.m.

Supervisor Eric Mar -- the city's notorious fast-food foe -- is hosting a community hearing in the Richmond District on Friday so that residents and Jack in the Box reps can duke it out about whether the 11th Avenue and Geary Boulevard restaurant should return to operating 24 hours.
But neighbors who have complained of noise and unruly patrons used this as a chance to keep the Jack in the Box closed after hours. More than 1,000 neighbors have signed a petition asking the city's Entertainment Commission to deny the restaurant's request for a permit to operate 24 hours.

Earlier this month, the Entertainment Commission delayed making any decision about whether to extend the all-hours permit to the Jack in the Box. The commission is now planning to revisit the item at its Jan. 24 meeting.

Mar -- who has admitted that he prefers tacos to McDonald's Happy Meals -- already gave residents his two cents about what should happen, saying he would support increased security at a 24-hour operation.

As for Jack in the Box, the fast-food restaurant says it's not solely to blame. If anything, the business is providing food to otherwise drunk patrons who come in hoping to sober up after a night of boozing at he nearby bars.

"San Francisco is a 24-hour city with not that many 24-hour eateries," Jennifer Cunanan, a spokesperson for Jack in the Box, wrote on richmondsfblog.com. "As some customers came forward during the hearing, they were happy to have a choice and an option of getting a fast hot meal during the odd hours of 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., and never had a problem."

But maybe they'd be even happier if they could get their Sourdough Jacks delivered to them at home.

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