‘It was terrifying’: Second Lincoln Park boutique robbed at knifepoint

A Lincoln Park boutique was robbed at knifepoint Monday afternoon, almost a month after a similar robbery occurred just a few stores away.

During Monday’s robbery, a man entered The Blue Jeans Bar at 2210 N. Halsted about 2:40 p.m. and demanded money from the cashier, police said.

The employee complied and the suspect ran off with an unknown amount of cash.

The store’s website describes itself as “a safe haven for people in search of a cozy atmosphere to find a perfect pair of blues” and sells more than 20 designer brands of denim.

On May 14, another boutique, Londo Mondo at 2148 N. Halsted, was robbed at knifepoint.

“We are literally four doors down,” said Vicki Freyre, an employee at Londo Mondo. “I was in the back and a gentleman came in and told my sales associate he needed help finding a gift for his girlfriend.”

Freyre said when it came time to check out, the suspect came behind the cash register, displayed a knife and demanded money from her co-worker.

“My sales associate didn’t want to alert him that I was in back so she cleverly did not scream and raised her voice and said, ‘We don’t have a safe,’ ” Freyre said. “That alerted me so I grabbed the phone to call 911.”

But before Freyre could call police, she saw the man escorting her co-worker to the back of the store with a knife.

“He wanted stuff from her purse,” she said. “When he walked into the stock room he saw me and freaked out. He bolted out the front door. It was terrifying.”

No one was injured in either of the robberies and police could not provide further information Monday afternoon.