MIDTOWN — A trio of thieves hungry for cash sneaked into two Midtown restaurants through their delivery doors and snatched employees' belongings, police said.
The two robberies happened within 30 minutes of each other on April 25, officials said, when the three men first targeted BEA Restaurant at 403 West 43rd St. around midnight.
Two of the men entered the restaurant through a delivery door that had been left open while their accomplice stayed outside to act as a lookout, according to the police and the restaurant's manager.
One suspect went inside the kitchen while the other snatched an employee's purse inside the restaurant's locker room, said general manager Jeffrey Dickash.
"As soon as he got the bag, they rushed out," said Dickash, who reviewed the surveillance tapes.
Dickash said the purse contained a wallet with the employee's ID, MetroCard and credit cards, as well as a book. Restaurant staff only discovered the burglary two hours later when the employee went to pick up her bag after finishing her shift, he said.
"We've been here for close to two years and nothing like this has happened before," Dickash said, adding that the plan to be more diligent about locking their doors.
The suspects then walked roughly three blocks and repeated their stunt at the Bareburger at 336 West 46th St., where all three entered the restaurant through the delivery side entrance and stole employees' property before fleeing, police said.
The first suspect was last seen wearing a grey hoodie and black jacket. The second was wearing a read and black cap, grey sweatpants and a blue and black Nike Jacket, while the third wore a black Goose coat, blue jeans and black sneakers, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
