New Canton restaurant burglarized days after opening

Surveillance footage captures two suspects breaking into Wanna Smash restaurant and stealing cash, electronics, and alcohol.

Apr. 4, 2026 at 7:52am

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An extreme close-up photograph of a shattered glass door lock mechanism, lit by a harsh, direct camera flash against a pitch-black background, conceptually illustrating the aftermath of a burglary at a newly opened restaurant.The aftermath of a brazen break-in exposes the vulnerabilities faced by new small businesses in their critical early days.Baltimore Today

A new restaurant in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood, Wanna Smash, was the target of a break-in just days after opening its doors on March 27. Surveillance video shows two suspects throwing an object through the side door, shattering the glass, and entering the business multiple times to steal cash registers, iPads, computers, printers, a drop safe, and large quantities of tequila. The director of operations estimates the total losses from the burglary to be between $8,000 and $10,000.

Why it matters

This incident highlights the challenges small businesses can face, especially in their critical early days of operation. The break-in at Wanna Smash comes on the heels of another burglary at a nearby ice cream shop, Patterson Park's Bmore Licks, on the same night, raising concerns about a potential crime spree targeting new local establishments in the Canton area.

The details

According to the director of operations, D.J. Vujatovic, the burglary occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. on Thursday, March 31, just four days after Wanna Smash opened. Surveillance footage shows two suspects throwing an object through the side door, shattering the glass, and then entering the restaurant three separate times. During these break-ins, the suspects stole cash registers, iPads, computers, printers, a drop safe, and large quantities of tequila.

  • Wanna Smash opened on March 27, 2026.
  • The burglary occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. on Thursday, March 31, 2026.

The players

Wanna Smash

A new restaurant that opened in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood on March 27, 2026.

D.J. Vujatovic

The director of operations at Wanna Smash.

Bmore Licks

An ice cream shop located in the Patterson Park neighborhood of Baltimore that was also burglarized on the same night as the Wanna Smash incident.

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What they’re saying

“We opened on the 27th of March, so we just opened on Friday, and then, between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m. from Wednesday into Thursday morning is when it occurred.”

— D.J. Vujatovic, Director of Operations, Wanna Smash

“They came in three separate times, the first time they came in at 12:12 a.m., they took our registers, iPads, computers, printers — anything in the vicinity. They came back 20 minutes later, and they took our drop safe and then came back a third time, and that's when they loaded up trash cans with alcohol and pretty much swiped all our tequila.”

— D.J. Vujatovic, Director of Operations, Wanna Smash

What’s next

Baltimore police are investigating the burglaries at both Wanna Smash and Bmore Licks separately, but no arrests have been made yet. The director of operations at Wanna Smash is working with authorities to provide surveillance footage and other evidence to help identify the suspects.

The takeaway

The back-to-back burglaries targeting new small businesses in the Canton neighborhood underscore the challenges that local restaurants and shops can face, especially in their critical early days of operation. This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of strong security measures and community support to help protect fledgling businesses from criminal activity.