Los Angeles

Manager fears LGBTQ+ support may be triggering crimes at LA restaurant

“We had a swastika drawn in marker on the front of our restaurant. We had the word ‘AIDS’ drawn on the pole in front of our restaurant,” the general manager said

NBC Universal, Inc.

A Los Angeles restaurant has been the target of a series of crimes – and the general manager thinks his business could be getting targeted for supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

Sorry not Sorry has been burglarized and vandalized, and last Friday, someone set cars on fire outside the establishment in the Sawtelle neighborhood. The business has never hit its support for the LGBT+ community, but general manager Brandon Waller worries that stance may be why it’s been hit so many times.

“We had a swastika drawn in marker on the front of our restaurant. We had the word ‘AIDS’ drawn on the pole in front of our restaurant,” Waller said, adding that everyone was initially in a state of shock.

During their burlesque show last Friday, Waller said someone poured accelerant onto the hood of three employees’ cars, slashed their tires and set the vehicles ablaze.

Logan Elliot, a Sorry not Sorry bartender, said had parked his car behind the restaurant like normal to start his shift. Later, he looked out and saw his car up in flames.

“And I’m like, ‘This is really bad’ because my car is parked next to a cabinet full of propane tanks,” Elliot recalled.

Waller noted that if people hadn’t noticed or smelled the burning rubber, the incident could have been fatal.

Local

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

Man breaks into apartment in Exposition Park near USC

Prop 33: Contentious California ballot measure over rent control

Thankfully they caught it fa, but still the fire damaged three cars, and this string of crimes left the business scarred. Waller said he’s now trying to boost morale.

“We can’t let that hold us back. We’re not going anywhere, we’re not shutting down, we’re not stopping anything,” Waller said. “But we are taking better safety measures, and we are taking this very seriously.”

The Los Angeles Police Department said it hasn’t made any arrests but continues investigating the case.

Contact Us