by Joe Saunders
Mess with the barista, you might be looking down the barrel of a gun.
A Spokane, Wash., coffee stand is taking a stand of its own against predatory criminals by making sure at least one of its staffers is armed at all times.
“A couple of them bring handguns every day, no matter what shift it is …,”Jitterz Java owner Sara Chapel told local television station KXLY last week. “There is always a gun here now.”
Chapel made the decision after an unknown man, armed with what appeared to be a weapon, tried to enter the coffee stand through its drive-through window on March 16. An employee on duty managed to block the attempt and grab her gun, and the lesson – the store’s third robbery or robbery attempt in less than a month — isn’t being forgotten.
Barista Krystal Cogswell, a lifelong gun owner who holds a concealed weapons permit, doesn’t plan on manning the windows unarmed any time soon.
“I’d like to defend myself if the time comes,” she said.
Customers for the most part cheered.