Canton Burger Restaurant Robbed Just Days After Grand Opening

The cleaning crew's 6 a.m. call to Dajana "DJ" Vujatovic carried an unusual message: the door was "missing." Within hours, Wanna Smash Burger's Director of Operations was piecing together what had happened overnight at the restaurant's new O'Donnell Street location, just five days after its March 27 grand opening.

Surveillance footage released on the restaurant's social media showed two suspects, hoods pulled up and ski masks on, throwing a rock through a glass side door just before midnight on April 2. What followed was three separate trips inside. First, they grabbed the cash register, computer, and printer. They returned for the safe. On a third pass, they loaded a trash can with tequila, scooped up two iPads, and swept up anything else within reach. Vujatovic estimated the total value of stolen goods between $8,000 and $9,000.

"The glass was completely shattered from the outside in," she said. "When you walk in there was literally glass everywhere."

Wanna Smash is a franchise concept that originated in Van Nuys, in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, after pivoting from a hibachi operation in 2023. The Baltimore franchise is owned by Melvin Daniels, who also co-owns Mug Shots bar in Federal Hill. The 1,200-square-foot space at 3500 O'Donnell Street features a modern, retro atmosphere and a menu built around premium wagyu beef smash burgers, with signature items including "The Quickie," "The Happy Ending," "The Hot & Heavy," and "The Cowgirl," plus a vegan option and a full bar, a feature unique to the Baltimore location.

The restaurant's social media response matched its brand voice. Alongside the surveillance video, Wanna Smash posted the caption: "Burgers so good they're breaking in for them."

Canton's reaction suggested the opening had already earned real goodwill. Neighborhood Facebook groups circulated Ring camera footage to help track the stolen goods. One of the stolen iPads emitted a location signal near Mondawmin, and the cash register, computer, and printer were found abandoned near a local resident's house. Canton resident Ed Mejia was among those who publicly expressed support for the business.

Vujatovic said the community's response to the opening had been strong from the start. "We had a really, really nice turnout," she said. "The community was super supportive." Before opening, she had acknowledged the concept carried some uncertainty: "We didn't know how the neighborhood would respond to a concept that was a little bit different than like what's normal or what they are used to in this community."

Despite the break-in, Wanna Smash reopened and served customers the following day. Baltimore Police were investigating, but no arrests had been made as of that morning.

The robbery fits into a troubling pattern for Baltimore's dining corridors. Baltimore Police Department data showed 335 commercial robberies across the city in the prior year, with 79 already recorded in 2025 at the time of the break-in. Federal Hill, where Daniels also runs Mug Shots, saw at least eight reported break-ins, larcenies, and property destruction offenses in 2024 alone. Among the targets was Moo Moo Cow, an ice cream shop vandalized three separate times in under a month, with suspects hurling bricks and rocks through its front windows. For Daniels, the pattern has now followed him across two of Baltimore's most active dining neighborhoods.