The first robbery took place at Domino's Pizza on Loudon Road on July 14th, just before midnight. Police say two black men, wearing all black clothing held up two employees with a silver handgun.
"Thursday night was a busy night for them and unfortunately they had a lot of cash on hand," says Colonie Police Detective Robert Winn.
The suspects made away with about $2,000. It's the same amount taken from Friendly's Restaurant down the street, just before 1 a.m. on Sunday July 24.
Police say this time, it was three black men using two silver handguns to hold up five employees, duct taping them together before making off with the cash.
Police believe the two incidents may be connected.
"This is troubling to us. It's an escalation in violence from the first one," Winn says. "It seemed to be much better planned than the first one."
Nearby on Loudon Road, Paesan's Pizza serves slices until 10 p.m. on most nights. We told manager Jamie Burditt of the recent robberies and of the warning from police to be cautious.
"That'll scare anyone," Burditt says. "I don't want that to happen to anyone here or any other business."
Jamie Burditt says his restaurant has an alarm system and also points out the restaurant's security cameras. He's hoping they'll deter any would-be robbers.
"To think that happened here it's bad for me, it's bad for my employees and it's bad for business too," Burditt says.
Police are upping their patrols but, they also need you to be vigilant. Call police if you notice anything suspicious. And if you come face-to-face with trouble, they say don't try to be a hero.
"If all they're looking for is the cash give them the cash and get them out of there," Winn says. "You can replace cash but you can't replace these employees lives."
