May 1, 2008
SFist Blotter: Mission Mayhem Edition
- Taking a cue from the East Bay's recent restaurant robberies, an armed gunman entered Valencia Street Italian eatery Beretta (formerly Last Supper Club/Radio Free Valencia) on Tuesday morning and robbed the joint. The restaurant was filled a with 10 patrons at the time. According to the Gate:
Police got a call at 1:21 a.m. Wednesday that a man had walked into Beretta on Valencia Street between 22nd and 23rd Streets, waved a gun and shouted, "This is a robbery! Everybody get down!" He didn't fire his gun, and no one was hurt. A restaurant worker handed the man the cash, and he fled on foot eastbound on 23rd Street.
Naturally, no arrests have been made. But the suspect is described as a African-American between 25 and 35 years old (!), 5'8",150 lbs, sporting a "brown hooded jacket, black baggy jeans, and black shoes."
- According to SF Crime (via Bay City News) a man was found shot inside his car on the 3000 block of Harrison Street last night at around 9:30 p.m. He later died at SF General Hospital.
No arrest have been made.
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Left out was the part where his tweaky sidekick yelled "Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you!"
They must have just watched "pulp fiction"
I just walked by Beretta the other day, and thought, "I should try this place out". But I didn't. Now that it has some real urban cred, though, I'll be going there ASAP!
Other places near me with urban cred: 20th and Bryant; 23rd and Harrison; Cha Cha Cha. I oughtta lead a walking tour.
I think you mean death for the tag (though "daeth" looks way cooler)...
From now on I'm bringing my double barrel 30.06 shotgun and carrying it cowboy style slung over my shoulder. I think that will deter the common criminal from puling any hijinks or tomfoolery. Maybe I'll get me some leather chaps and take up smoking too for extra effect.
The important thing is that nobody was hurt. The incident shook us all up and as a result we've installed additional measures of security. It's a shame that we were one of the recent restaurants to be targeted in this recent string of robberies. We're working with SFPD to review the camera footage and hopefully we'll be able to identify the criminal.
It's important to understand that this kind of thing can happen to any restaurant, bank, bookstore or any merchant that exchanges money. We would like to offer some tips, which are detailed below, to help businesses safeguard themselves. Beretta is dedicated to being a neighborhood restaurant where everyone can enjoy great food and delicious drinks in a safe and comfortable environment and we won't sit by and let the criminal acts of one individual compromise our pledge to the neighborhood.
Tips
1. Servers / Bartenders and all workers in the restaurant should walk to their cars in pairs. Criminals know that workers leaving restaurants often have cash tips and are therefore targets.
2. Ensure that side entrances and loading docks are locked and secure - making only one main entrance / exit.
3. Keep 911 on emergency one-touch dial at the host stand.
Finally and most importantly, we'd like to thank our customers for the way they handled the incident. Everyone remained very calm and collective- nobody tried to act as the "hero," and as a result nobody was hurt. That is tip #4 and probably the most important one.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Beretta Team