Bob Evans restaurant robbed
North Franklin Township police Sgt. Dean Urbanic dusts the door of Bob Evans Restaurant for fingerprints after a robbery Thursday afternoon.
A surveillance image of the suspect in Thursday’s robbery at the Bob Evans Restaurant on West Chestnut Street in North Franklin Township.
North Franklin Township police are searching for a man who robbed the Bob Evans restaurant, 1380 W. Chestnut St., at gunpoint just before 2 p.m. Thursday.
Police Sgt. Dean Urbanic said the robber entered the restaurant through the side carry-out door and went up to the cash register nearest to the take-out counter.
“He had the worker hand him the money as he stood off to the side,” Urbanic said. “He told her ‘Give it all to me.'”
The robber had a handgun in the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt that he slid out so the cashier could see it, Urbanic added. After the clerk handed him the money, he left the restaurant through the same door. He then went to the lot of the 7-Eleven, next to the restaurant, and got into a small, black car parked behind the convenience store. He drove off, headed toward Washington.
The cashier told Urbanic she did not recognize the robber.
Police Chief Ron Fox said there were 18 to 20 customers in the restaurant at the time of the robbery.
“They had no idea what was happening. He was in and out in a matter of minutes,” Fox said. “The cashier did a good job keeping her cool and not calling any attention to what was going on.”
The suspect is white, 6 feet, 2 inches tall with a thin build. He has reddish brown hair and a goatee and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the number 24 on the front, dark gray shorts, tennis shoes and pink socks.
Police will check footage from surveillance cameras at nearby businesses. While several convenience stores along that stretch have been robbed in the past, Urbanic believes this is the first time this restaurant has been hit.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Washington County 911 and ask to speak to a North Franklin officer or call the station at 724-228-9610.