Hit on Irish Heart Hotel
THE Irish Heart Hotel at Goodna was robbed by two armed men early yesterday morning, five months on from a robbery in which a male staff member was bashed.
Police said the men were armed with a knife and demanded cash from a male staff member at 12.30am, shortly after the Queen St premises had closed.
The staff member complied and the men took off with a sum of money. They were last seen running down Alice St into Martha St, police said.
Hotel owner Michael Falvey said none of the three staff members working that night were harmed.
"It's more of a frustrating incident, especially because it came after the Easter-time robbery," he said.
Two Irish Heart staff members were injured in the April incident.
A male worker was severely bashed and a female worker suffered bruises.
"Thankfully this robbery was nowhere near as bad as the Easter one," Mr Falvey said.
"We put in safeguards after that robbery and now we'll put in some final safeguards to counteract the only way these two got around them," he said.
"I think criminals are realising we're not an easy target.
"A sign of that is the men last night had to ask staff to be let out of the premises after the robbery because they couldn't figure it out."
Mr Falvey said he hoped police found the men.
"What's happened is that criminals have taken money from hard-working people," he said.
"We've been here for 30 years and it's disappointing to see incidents like this happen in Goodna."
Police described one of the robbers as being of Asian appearance, about 182cm tall and with a solid build and brown hair.
The man was wearing a black hooded jumper, dark pants, black gloves and white shoes, with dark material covering his face.
Police said the other man was of Pacific Islander appearance, and of a similar height and build.
He was wearing similar clothing, except his pants had two white stripes down each side.
Police investigations into the robbery are continuing.
Patrons and other community members turned to Facebook to express messages of support for the hotel.
"Hi guys, sorry to hear about this morning's dramas. Hope those involved recover quickly. Take care," wrote staff from the nearby Weeroona Hotel.
