A man with a gun took over a restaurant and robbed its employees in the Los Angeles area Sunday night, police said.
No one was hurt in the roughly 11 p.m. robbery at Mimi's Cafe on Whittier Boulevard in the city of Whittier, according to the Whittier Police Department. A man in his mid-20s was in the restaurant for 10-15 minutes and remains outstanding.
"One of the employees exited the back door to try to take out some trash when he encountered the suspect," Whittier Police Sgt. John Scoggins said.
The robber corraled five employees at gunpoint into the restaurant's business office, Scoggins said.
A Mimi's Cafe dishwasher, Juan Lopez, said the robber threatened to shoot the employees if they didn't give him their phones and cash. He required them to give over their phone passwords.
The restaurant was closed when the robbery took place, so no customers were inside, Lopez said. He wouldn't let the attack stop him from going back to work, however.
"Yeah, it was a scary moment but I'm going to have to get through it," Lopez said.
