Strikes Bowling Lounge was robbed at gunpoint yesterday morning in what the owner believes may have been an inside job.
The bowling alley, located at 4040 Locust St., was robbed of approximately $12,000 around 9:00 a.m. yesterday when a male accosted the store manager with a silver handgun prior to the store opening, Division of Public Safety officials said.
The assailant was inside the bowling alley when the manager arrived and, according to Strikes co-owner Nat Canno, had a key that allowed him to enter the building.
Canno also said that the robber tied up the manager before leaving with the money.
No one was injured in the incident, DPS officials said.
The manager described the suspect as a black male, 18 to 25 years old, with a light complexion. He was allegedly wearing a white ski mask, a dark hooded sweatshirt under a yellow puffy jacket and was carrying a black backpack. He fled west on Locust Street, DPS officials said.
DPS would not provide further details about the case because Philadelphia Police are handling the investigation.
Philadelphia Police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Because there was no forced entry, Canno said that he believed someone had assisted the robber in gaining access to the bowling alley.
"I think that like a lot of restaurants where these types of things happen, it was an inside kind of job," he said.
Canno added that other than changing its locks, it is unlikely that the bowling alley will boost its security as a result of the incident.
"It's frustrating obviously," he said. "It's not the kind of thing you want to wake up to and it's not the kind of thing you want people to have to deal with. . But we do have a pretty good security system and . we've never really had any crime problems at Strikes."
College Pizza, currently located at 3925 Walnut St., and Strikes announced last week that the campus pizzeria would be moving into the bowling alley over winter break.
And while Canno said that he has not talked to the ownership from College Pizza, he doesn't think the incident will compromise their new partnership.
"It's more about University City," he said. "When you're in a major city, things like this occasionally happen."
Residents of the buildings near Strikes who were interviewed said they heard or saw nothing related to the incident.
But most say that a robbery occurring virtually in their backyard is troubling nonetheless.
"It's kind of scary," said Wharton senior Shira Goldberg, who lives on the 4000 block of Locust Street. "I don't really feel less safe, but I hope they increase their security."
- Staff writer Shruti Dave contributed to this article
