The attack happened happened last week at The Dandy Crown, a beloved local cocktail bar in River West at 694 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago police said.
The bar has shut down operations after being targeted by thieves multiples times. A woman who seen on surveillance video being "body-slammed" by the thieves is now speaking out.
The Dandy Crown bar has been shuttered since Sarah, an employee, was "body-slammed" during one of two armed robberies last week that was caught on camera. There's still no word on when the bar will reopen, leaving its entire staff in financial fear.
"He pretty quickly picked me up and threw me on the chair," Sarah said.
It was an attack that literally turned her life upside down, leaving Sarah with bruises. She said the entire bar crew is unemployed in the wake of two back-to-back robberies.
She asked ABC7 to conceal her identity as she shared what happened.
"It was a pretty normal shift up until this point. Around 8:15, this man walked in with a face mask and was on the phone and said that he was waiting for his girlfriend," Sarah said. "When I came back inside I saw him sitting there with my bag in his lap, and he was going through it. He was going through my wallet. I saw him taking cash out of it."
Security video inside The Dandy Crown showed that violent confrontation involving a masked man who then tried to run away. She said he claimed he was armed with knife.
"When he got to the front door, he punched me in the face," Sarah said. "The guy then ran across the street to his car, got in, tried to run my friend over and then exited."
Just two nights prior, another employee faced a masked man, also seen on security video.
Police say the suspect pulled out a sharp object before demanding money from the cash register. However, he was only able to get away with a woman's bag and two phones.
The bar's owner, Julia Shell, told ABC7 last week that her business was robbed at least five times over the last two years.
The bar has been shuttered since Sarah's attack, and when it will reopen remains unclear.
In an email obtained by ABC7, the owner told her employees, "anyone eligible to file unemployment should feel free to do so now, as I do not have a firm re-opening date."
This comes after Sarah says the bar's general manager quit last Friday due to safety concerns.
"Not only myself, but now all my colleagues are out of work, and everybody is missing out on income," Sarah said.
In the meantime, Sarah is organizing a fundraising effort for her fellow employees, but she says she doesn't know how long that'll last.
Calls to the owner for comment left by ABC7 were not returned.
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So far, no arrests have been made.