Popular Sherman Oaks restaurant stops accepting cash because of burglaries

The owners of a restaurant in Sherman Oaks say they have been targeted by burglars seven times in the past seven month, so they have decided to take a drastic step to stem their losses.

Starting Friday, they have stopped accepting cash.

“There has been a significant impact to our team’s morale and sense of safety as well as significant financial impacts,” HomeState, a Mexican restaurant located at 13424 Ventura Blvd, posted on Instagram. “We have done our best to increase security but understand that cash is an incentivization for criminals to burglarize.”

HomeState says neighboring restaurants plan to follow their lead.

“While we’ve always believed that it’s important to accept cash to ensure accessibility for all, it’s our responsibility to take any and all measures to protect our team and our space.”