Rash of armed robberies has Starbucks customers, employees in Twin Cities jittery

One minute Nick Kanavati was staring at his laptop computer screen while sipping coffee inside a St. Louis Park Starbucks. The next minute he was staring at a handgun pointed at him by a man who ordered him to go behind the counter and point his face to the floor.

The robber also demanded the two Starbucks employees — a man and a woman — to drop to the floor, then he stuffed money in a paper bag and left the store on Minnetonka Boulevard near the junction with Hwy. 7 and W. Lake Street.

The heist carried out just after the store opened at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday was one of at least five Starbucks stores to be robbed in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Richfield and Roseville over the past month. Police believe the same man is responsible for all of them.

While nobody has been hurt, yet, the string of robberies has police in the four cities working overtime to identify and catch the suspect. And they have left customers such as Kanavati feeling as jittery as if they'd downed a strong latte.

Kanavati thought the robber was going to do him in "execution-style, like in the movies."

"I thought he was going to start shooting," Kanavati said. "Everybody was scared."

Kanavati didn't move an inch for a long time, unsure whether suspect left the store. "We didn't want to risk it," he said. The female employee, he said "was sobbing as she used a cellphone to call police."

Kanavati described the man as being a young Somali about 6 feet tall with a thick accent and wearing a black hat. The matches suspect descriptions provided by other witnesses and images captured on video surveillance photos which police in the four cities have been studying in hopes of identifying and arresting the armed robber.

"It does look like the same person," said Sgt. Catherine Michal of the Minneapolis Police Department. "We would like to catch this person."

The early morning robberies have mostly occurred when it is still dark outside and stores have just opened for the day. The first was Dec. 10 in the 2500 block of Riverside Avenue in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Two days later, at 5:52 a.m., a second Starbucks at 2000 Nicollet Avenue S. was robbed. Another Starbucks in the 7600 block of Lyndale Avenue in Richfield was hit on Dec. 21. In that holdup, a suspect made off with $1,189.

Then came a stickup in Roseville followed by last week's in St. Louis Park, in which the suspect may not have acted alone.

The St. Louis Park police report indicates a second suspect was involved. Witnesses described both as young Somalis. One was about 6 feet tall, thin build, with a British accent. He was wearing a black winter hat and black sweatshirt inscribed with "Everlast" across the front. His accomplice was shorter, heavyset and wearing a black Carhartt hat and navy-colored sweatshirt.

In response to the robberies, several Starbucks stores across the metro area have delayed opening times a couple of hours. On Friday, a notice taped to the door of the Dinkytown store at 5th Street and 14th Avenue SE. alerted customers to the change.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but we have to change our store opening hours to 8 a.m.," it read. "We appreciate your patience."

Tim Cantway, who has managed the Dinkytown store for the past six years, said the robberies have been unnerving for people. The new hours will remain in place indefinitely, he said.

"To keep people safe, I think this is the right choice," he said. "Something needs to be done to make people aware" of what is happening.

Similar notices went up at stores on 54th Street and Lyndale Avenue S. in Minneapolis, 98th Street and Lyndale Avenue S. in Bloomington and the 2305 Fairview Avenue in Roseville. Police in St. Paul said no Starbucks have been hit.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Seattle-based Starbucks said "the safety of our partners [employees] and customers is our top priority. We have taken steps to ensure that everyone in our stores is safe, including shifting the opening hours for select locations. We are working closely with local authorities on their investigation."

On Sunday, Minneapolis police responded to a coffee shop robbery at the Dunn Bros. on 50th Street and Xerxes Avenue S., but they don't believe that heist is related to the rash of Starbucks robberies.

As to why the robber is exclusively targeting Starbucks is a mystery to police.

"We don't know why Starbucks," Michal said. "Any business is a target if they have money in the drawer. It's weird, some people just pick certain things, like a Subway, and then just stick with them. Maybe he has a relationship with Starbucks or was a former employee. There are many [possible] reasons."

Michal said police are meeting with Starbucks stores and providing information on how to stay safe and be cautious.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768