Church St business held up

Flatirons — the card and novelty shop at 469 Church St, just below Woody’s — was held up just after 8pm on the night of Feb 13.

“Basically he waited until the store was clear of customers to come in,” says store clerk John Bervas. “As soon as he walked in he pulled out a gun from his pants.”

Bervas describes the suspect as a young white male around five feet, nine inches tall and weighing approximately 190 pounds. At the time of the robbery the suspect was wearing a khaki-coloured jacket and brandishing what appeared to be a black handgun.

Bervas, who has worked at the store for seven years, says he wasn’t injured in the incident but was left “shaken up.” The suspect got away with the cash from the evening’s sales.

“He didn’t get a lot of money,” says Bervas. “It was a very minimal amount because most of our customers pay by credit card and debit. So he really only got away with between $100 to $150.”

According to Bervas several officers from 51 Division attended the store after the robbery, including two detectives. He says the officers took photos and fingerprints from the scene.

But Toronto police declined to comment on the robbery. “We don’t have any information to release at this time,” says acting staff sergeant Brad Quigg.

Flatirons’ owner Ted Genova wasn’t at the store at the time, but Bervas says he was alarmed at hearing the news of the robbery.

“Ted was surprised and very concerned that someone would come in and do this especially for such a minimal amount of money,” says Bervas.

Bervas says that although he was alarmed by the incident, he’s trying not to let it bother him. “But… I feel more apprehensive now. You’re watching people a little more closely and wondering about what may happen during the quiet times.

“This has never happened to this store before. Maybe it’s a sign of the times and the pressures of the economy we’re having right now. I guess it helps that the guy seemed like he didn’t really want to do this, kind of like this was the first time he had done anything like this.”