One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Chipotle Workers Locked In Walk-In Freezer During Robbery
An image of the suspect. (Courtesy of the Orange Police Department)
The hits just keep coming for Chipotle. Last year, the franchise's stores were linked with E. coli, salmonella and norovirus. And, just last week, they ditched their noodle-centric ShopHouse concept after deciding that it wasn't "an attractive unit economic model." Currently, shares for Chipotle are selling at less than half of what it was during its peak in August of 2015, when it was nearly $750 a pop.
On Wednesday, a Chipotle location in the Orange County was robbed earlier this morning by an armed man wearing basketball shorts.
According to the OC Register, a man walked into the Chipotle location on the 3400 block of E. Chapman Avenue at about 8 a.m. and brandished a handgun. He demanded money, and workers emptied out the registers to hand over an undisclosed sum to him. Once the transaction was made, the suspect then led the employees into the walk-in freezer and locked them in.
The suspect is described as a black man who weighs around 180 pounds and is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, according to KTLA. In security footage he is seen wearing a hooded jacket, white T-shirt and black basketball shorts. He was last seen on surveillance video walking west on Chapman Avenue.
And what about those Chipotle employees? Luckily, it turned out there was a way to unlock that icy freezer from within. "There was an interior opening mechanism that allowed them to get outside of the freezer," Mike Monjaraz, sergeant watch commander of the Orange Police Department, told LAist.
And it looks like everything's returned to normal. LAist called the Chipotle location and found out that the store is up and running already. Though, when asked for further details, we were invited to call the corporate line.
Does this all suggest that Chipotle, in the face of peril, is able to put up a show of great resilience? We sure hope that's the case.
Sponsored message
Anyone who has information about the case can call the Orange Police Department at 714-744-7444.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
