Ayesha Curry is in the hot seat right now after upsetting Oakland, California, locals.
On Feb. 1, the entreprenuer announced the closing of her boutique, Sweet July, on the company’s Instagram, claiming it was due to safety concerns.
Sweet July, Ayesha Curry’s retail store and cafe, is located in Uptown Oakland and sells self care and home goods items. The company’s website describes the space as “an experience and a beautiful gathering place for the community.”
However, on Feb. 9, the store will be closing its doors for good.
Sharing a photo of the boutique on Instagram with the words “Thank You Oakland,” Sweet July announced its closing. “In order to prioritize the safety of our patrons and staff, we have made the difficult decision to close our Sweet July cafe and store in Oakland,” it read. “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.”
But the company isn’t going away completely. The caption also hinted at there being “exciting new ventures on the horizon” without being too specific.
The vaguely worded announcement from Sweet July rubbed several Bay Area locals the wrong way. Many felt the 35-year-old entrepreneur was blaming the store’s closing on crime in the neighborhood, casting an unfair light on the area.
Ken Houston, executive director of the Oakland-based nonprofit called Beautification Council, had a few words for Curry. “Just because (the Sweet July store) is closing, it doesn’t mean it has something to do with crime,” he told Mercury News. “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.”
Houston didn’t stop there. He added, “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.”
Beautification Council is a “micro cleaning and sanitization maintenance company committed to disrupting blight and homelessness” according to the website.
Other Oakland locals took it directly to Curry and Sweet July, leaving their thoughts on the company’s Instagram page.
One person wrote, “Instead of making it Oakland’s fault and painting the country an ugly picture – why not be honest and say that the store’s location has zero foot traffic and no one knows it’s there. There is a thriving art scene and businesses in your same area that have been there for decades.”
Another person offered a different cause behind the store’s shutdown, explaining that the store’s hours were not consistent. They wrote, “Everytime i stopped by to view your store, it somehow is always closed both weekdays or weekends.”
A few commenters noted that Curry’s brick-and-mortar store had security guards present. Although it’s unclear when this additional security was put in place, one commenter suggested that a guard had been present for much of the time since the store opened in 2021.
“Best of luck in all new endeavors, but respectfully shout out to Sweet July’s on site security team. I know there is never been an incident while any staff or patrons have been present. My dad has served as a security guard there for over 3 years. The couple times I’ve been to the store it’s always been very quiet and the girls are so pleasant,” they wrote.
According the outlet, on Oct. 1 2022, a burglary took place in the store’s location where the thief shattered the glass from the front window and stole several items. But local police said statistics at the end of 2024 showed crime in Uptown and North Oakland was down 38 percent the year prior. Violent crime was down 25 percent overall, including robberies, which went down 17 percent and burglaries decreased at 51 percent.
Sweet July would not be Curry’s first business venture to fall through. In 2019, her Houston, TX International Smoke restaurant abruptly shut down. On Jan. 19, the restaurant’s Las Vegas location followed suit after just five years in business.
Curry has not made a statement on the mayhem following her boutique’s post yet, but her Sweet July brand is definitely not over.
In fact, in October 2024, she announced that Sweet July opened a cafe in Santa Monica at the luxury hotel called Regent Santa Monica Beach. Sharing an Instagram post with her pictured outside of the cafe’s doors, she wrote a message announcing the new location.
It reads, “God is good. @sweetjuly cafe Santa Monica is now open at the @regentsantamonica !!! Come see us for the most insanely delicious bread puddings and lattes among other things. (Sharing pics of the space next! Stay tuned.”
