Insanity: Taco stand owner spends $4k per WEEK in private security to protect his business (it's more than his rent)

WASHINGTON, DC -  As we continue to see crime rates rise, business owners are the ones having to take it on the chin. Bo Blair is one of those people.

Blair owns 11 restaurants in the DC area, and thanks to the aforementioned increase in crime in the nation's capital, he has had to spend a small fortune to make sure that his staff, his guests and his property and products are protected.

At one of his locations, the Surfside Taco Stand, he is doling out more than $4,000 per week for private security. That single location in the Dupont Circle area will see him spend $208,000 by the end of the year.

His security bill for all his business will be just south of $500,000. Several of his locations are spending more in security costs per month than rent. 

He recently spoke with Fox Business's Griff Jenkins. "It's not sustainable," Blair said on Thursday standing outside of Surfside. "Hopefully we can get through this crime crisis and we won't have to do that in the future. The total amount of money we spent on security for this year at all the locations was over $450,000."

The brunt of the spending is being born by Blair, as he has found it difficult to pass the cost on to the consumer. 

"We have to pay for security to make employees feel safe. Once an incident happens, turnover is high, and we're spending time and money on more training. It's like a hamster wheel," he told Axios. "Think about it, private security at a taco stand.  It's like the Wild West."

The Fox Business piece articulated where the rise in crime has been. 

"Carjackings alone have more than doubled over the past year in Washington, with the latest figure for 2023 sitting at 928. Two hundred and fifty-four homicides were also recorded in the District this year, a nearly-one-third increase."