Blues Jean Bar in Lincoln Park robbed by man with knife, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are investigating an armed robbery at a boutique clothing store in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

The Blues Jean Bar in the 2200-block of N. Halsted was robbed by a man with a knife around 2:40 p.m. Monday, police said. Police said the man took cash and then ran out of the store.

"It's definitely a little bit unsettling. It's a really nice neighborhood, I've been here for three years and I've never once felt unsafe, so it's pretty surprising that this has been going on," said Doug Brown, who lives in the same building.

It appears the robber is the same man responsible for a string of retail robberies at knife point, including a robbery of the Londo Mondo store in the 2100-block of N. Halsted on May 13. And on May 6, about half a mile away in Bucktown, a store clerk's hand was slashed by the knife-wielding robber. All robberies occurred during daylight, and most in mid-afternoon.

"This is a low point of the day. It's not our busiest time. Afternoons are slow," said Martha Hofert, president, Lincoln Park Merchants Association.

In Monday's incident, police said the robber was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and pretended to shop in the store before approaching the clerk with a knife - the same M.O. used in some of the other incidents.

"Everyone, please be overly cautious about who you let in your doors or who you see coming in your stores. We just need to be super vigilant about this," Hofert said.

Ald. Michele Smith said Monday that an increased police presence, including a dedicated foot patrol, has been instituted on the Armitage-Halsted corridor in response to the incidents.

No one was injured in Monday's robbery. Police did not say how much money was stolen or if surveillance cameras captured the incident.