UPTOWN — A clerk at New Sam’s Food Mart, 5038 N. Sheridan Road, was assaulted Nov. 10 during a robbery when a man demanded cash, implying there was a handgun tucked into his waistband.
“It’s a shock, something like that,” said Altaf Waudlwala, the food mart’s manager. “It’s a beautiful neighborhood, never had anything like that. We don’t sell anything here that encourages the wrong crowd. It’s a very nice and clean store and it’s mostly regular customers.”
The robber — described as a black male in his mid 30s — entered the shop about 7 a.m., according to a Chicago Police report.
He ordered the clerk to open the cash register as he pointed toward his waistband, suggesting he had a weapon, the clerk said.
Waudlwala, who was not in the store during the robbery, said he did not recognize the man from surveillance video and had not seen him in the neighborhood prior to the robbery. Police detectives were given a copy of the video for their investigation, he said.
After receiving an unknown amount of cash from the register, the man ordered the clerk to the store’s safe and said he wanted whatever was there, too.
When the clerk said he did not have its combination, the robber punched him in the back of the neck and threw him to the ground, causing minor injuries, police said.
The robber took $40 cash from the clerk’s wallet before throwing it to the ground and walking toward the store’s entrance.
Two customers entered as the robber was walking out, according to the report. The clerk shouted “thief, thief” as the offender walked toward the customers.
“Do you want to get beat some more?” the robber said on his way out, according to the clerk’s statement to police.
He then bolted out the front door and ran east along Carmen Avenue, police said. Officers toured the area for the robber but did not make any arrests.
Afterward, the clerk quit his job at the mart and did not want to speak to media about the robbery. “He doesn’t feel comfortable working here," said Waudlwala. "He’s not even answering my phone calls to be very honest."
"We’ve been here 13 years, it’s a nice clean shop,” said Waudlwala near the entrance as he greeted customers coming and going. “In the evening, you will see people come with their kids. They feel very safe. That’s why we have a lot of cameras here.”
