The spree of restaurant robberies in the San Fernando Valley is starting to draw the attention of area business organizations, some of which have started programs to help business owners safeguard against future hold-ups. “We’re just trying to respond to a need,” said Roberto Barragan, president and CEO of the Valley Economic Development Center. The nonprofit recently started offering expedited micro-loans for as much as $35,000 for business owners to spend on cameras, gates and locks. Barragan said the money helps businesses grapple with the expensive costs at a time when fewer people are dining out. “The only thing we can do is to provide some financing,” said Barragan, who would not reveal what businesses will receive the loans because details still have to be hammered out. The Valley Industry and Commerce Association has also talked with its members about security options, as have the Encino, Mid-Valley and Sherman Oaks chambers of commerce. The steps are in response to the 52 “takeover”-style robberies over the last two years that police have linked to a group of brazen thieves targeting Valley establishments. The armed robbers usually two, but sometimes three wearing ski masks typically swarm sit-down restaurants just before closing time, surprising customers and wait-staff. They then point a weapon at a customer and calmly ask diners and staff to hand over cash and valuables, said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Paul Vernon. “They go in with a plan. They know exactly what they want and they know how to do it,” Vernon said. Nearly all of the robberies since the spree started in summer 2004 have occurred at independent restaurants, many of which had limited visibility from the street. Targets have run the gamut from Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs in Sherman Oaks (January 2005) and Steak Joynt in North Hollywood (February and May 2005) to Sisley Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks (June 11) and Ca Del Sole, near Universal Studios Hollywood (last month). The list also includes a numbers of old-style neighborhood eateries Barone’s Famous Italian Restaurant in Valley Glen and The Valley Inn in Sherman Oaks were both hit this summer and casual eateries, such as Big Jim’s Family Restaurant in Sun Valley, Killer Shrimp in Studio City and Ameci’s Pizza Restaurant in Woodland Hills. The bandits have also held up some chain restaurants, including a Denny’s and Shakey’s Pizza restaurant, and a number of bars, such as Foxfire Room in Studio City and The Candy Cat Club in Reseda. Police estimate the robbers have gotten away with $150,000 over the past two years. While witnesses say the bandits are calm, they have resorted to violence in at least one case, when the robbers shot dead a young man who tried to flee during the robbery of a Northridge Thai restaurant, police said. Vernon said the incident shows the men are willing to use bloodshed. “Certainly they have a propensity for it,” he said. The threat has some Valley business owners worried, said Bruce Neckels, president of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce, who represents one of the Valley’s largest concentration of restaurants, along Ventura Boulevard. “How can you not be a little fearful? These guys are pretty mean,” he said. But that fear is apparently not turning away people from eating out. In fact, Neckels said the only impact he could think of is fewer late night customers. “I think people will start making their reservations earlier,” Neckels said. That’s not the case at The Back Room, a restaurant and nightclub on Sherman Way in Canoga Park, which offers jazz acts at night, said manager Hajrush Vlashi. He said business is holding steady even though it stays open late into the night. “No problems,” Vlashi said. “I’m the only business on the block. Nothing happens.” Allen Ravert, owner of the Studio City nightspot Mexicali Cocina Cantina, isn’t feeling the pinch either. “Our sales are up from last year,” he said, adding that a rocky economy and high gas prices are having more of an effect on people eating out than worries of being held up. That doesn’t mean the restaurant is taking the threat lightly. Ravert has held multiple staff meetings about safety and talked with police. “We’ve asked for extra patrols on the boulevard,” he said. “We’re really frightened.” Such steps are exactly what police are asking restaurant owners to take to make businesses less attractive to robbers, along with adding cameras, locking doors after closing or even hiring security guards. Police are also patrolling thoroughfares more frequently and have added more helicopter surveillance and undercover officers at restaurants. Police, however, are having a hard time figuring out where the criminals will hit next, Vernon said. “It’s like looking for a needle in many haystacks,” he said. “There’s so many restaurants in the Valley.”
