Sherman Oaks restaurant stops accepting cash after 7 break-ins

A Sherman Oaks restaurant owner decided to stop accepting cash from customers as thieves target her restaurant for cash smash-and-grabs.

Brianna Valdez, the owner of HomeState, says she doesn't want to dissuade customers who don't have plastic or virtual wallets from dining at her restaurant, but feels removing the bait is the only way to keep her staff safe.

"Its important for us to remain part of the community, that serves the whole community. And today we made a really difficult decision," said Valdez. "(We want to) rebuild that confidence for the team today to make that decision, is to remove the bait for the burglers."  

The Sherman Oaks HomeState location opened July 22 and Valdez said over that seven month period, the restaurant has had seven break-in attempts.

The latest break-in happened after 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Surveillance video shows a man wearing a hoodie over a baseball cap and a mask, smash the door open with a hammer, then using the same hammer on the restaurant's safe.

Surviellance video captured a December 22 break-in at the restaurant, where again a sledge hammer was used to smash the front door and to steal cash from a safe.

Businesses in the area have also reported recent burglaries.