The employees of a Spenard Subway restaurant had an unexpected shakeup on Wednesday to their morning routine of keeping enough Seattle's Best coffee on tap, asking customers if they want their bacon-and-egg sandwiches heated or toasted and baking enough bread for the lunchtime rush.
A gun-wielding man, described by the Anchorage Police Department as around 6 feet tall and weighing 150 pounds, allegedly entered the Subway on Northern Lights Boulevard around 7 a.m. wearing a ski mask and a puffy Phat Farm jacket with red lettering.
Police said the man demanded money from the cash register. A male employee complied, but the robber struck the worker on the back of the head with the gun before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to police.
Tim Woolston, a public relations consultant for Subway Alaska, said the employee was taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center and released by 10 a.m. without serious injuries. No one else was injured in the robbery.
Woolston said that an Anchorage police officer was at a coffee shop near the restaurant and was able to respond within 90 seconds.
"It's not something that's happened there before. There have been small incidents [at Subways] around Anchorage, but nothing on this level," Wooston said, adding, "We've been really impressed with the speed of the response and the investigation."
APD has yet to apprehend the suspect, and anyone with information on the identity of the robber is urged to call Anchorage police at 786-8900, Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or to submit a tip on the secure website: www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.
Contact Austin Baird at austin(at)alaskadispatch.com