2 Gunmen Sought in Series of Restaurant Heists

Police from five police agencies are looking for two short-tempered thieves, who reportedly have used guns and an array of masks in a string of seven restaurant holdups.

Police believe that the same men who robbed Hof’s Hut in Torrance early Monday morning also hit the Chicago Ribs restaurant in Redondo Beach on July 19, and five other local restaurants in the intervening months. The two robbers, who strike late at night and force their victims into cold storage lockers, are also suspected in two robberies in Irvine and the City of Industry.

But police said heavy clothing and an ever-changing selection of masks have made it impossible to get an accurate description of the men, who have made off with $44,500 in four months. The gunmen have alternately covered their faces with ski masks, nylon stockings and a variety of Halloween masks.

The robbery at Hof’s Hut on Crenshaw Boulevard netted $23,000, the thieves’ biggest take thus far, according to Torrance police Detective Jim Lorentz. Two men wearing black clothing and nylon stocking masks confronted an employee at the back door of the restaurant about 2 a.m.

When a worker tried to wrestle a sawed-off shotgun away from one robber, the other fired a warning shot into a restaurant wall, police said.

As in the previous robberies, the two men were able to get away after locking employees in a walk-in freezer. They apparently escaped with the help of at least one accomplice, who communicated with them by walkie-talkie.

The robbers reportedly are restrained as long as victims follow orders. “If there is any hesitation or refusal to comply with their demands, there are violent confrontations,” Lorentz said.

The owner of the Golden Goose restaurant in Torrance suffered a broken cheekbone Aug. 1 when he was hit by one of the robbers.

Other restaurants robbed in the last four months are the Sizzler in Lomita, Borelli’s in Hermosa Beach, TGI Fridays in Torrance, the Rusty Pelican in Irvine and Marie Callender’s in the City of Industry. Robbers left Cafe Toulouse in Torrance without any cash last month because none of the workers could open the safe.

Police from Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Los Angeles, and sheriff’s investigators are looking into the case, but progress has been slow. “We’re at the point we don’t know who they are or where they are,” Lorentz said. “Until something breaks, or the ball bounces our way, we are at a standstill.”