Ken Kee Restaurant in Chinatown was open for the lunchtime rush Wednesday, just 12 hours after the restaurant was robbed at gunpoint.
No one was injured, but the “brazen robbery” added to the worries of residents, activists and elected officials already pushing for better safety measures in the area.
“Residents of Chinatown feel not safe at all, they cannot even celebrate early Valentine’s Day,” said Kim Tee, an activist pushing for better crime prevention
Two masked, armed men entered Ken Kee Restaurant at 2129 S. China Place just before midnight. They demanded money from the register, and two employees complied, according to Chicago police.
Employees declined to answer questions from a Chicago Sun-Times reporter on Wednesday.
Many nearby businesses were closed at the time of the robbery. Employees at a restaurant next door said they had heard about the robbery but didn’t know details.
“Given that this was a more brazen robbery than we are accustomed to seeing in Chinatown, I was relieved to learn that none of the staff or patrons were injured,” Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) told the Sun-Times.
“My office is currently in coordination with the 9th District to increase police presence and patrols in Chinatown Square beginning immediately. No restaurant staff or patron should have to live in fear in our community.”
The robbery caught the attention of residents and activists pushing for higher security and police presence in the area. Jojo Tran, who works in the area said residents are feeling nervous about recent crimes.
“Elder people ask me [about it] and feel unsafe in Chinatown,” she said, adding that viaducts in the neighborhood can feel especially dangerous.
The location of Chinatown makes it easy for criminals to escape, according to Tee.
“It’s so easy, you hijack the car, you rob the individual and you get on the highway,” the activist said.
Lai Ching Ng, a candidate for state representative who has worked at the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said she’s changed her behavior as crime has become more prominent in the area.
“We walk around, make sure nobody’s profiling you,” she said. “If we’re in the car and somebody’s too close, we stay in the car. We’re cautious about that.”
She said residents need better translation services to encourage them to report crimes that happen in the neighborhood and urged city officials to increase police presence in the area.
“It recently got more serious,” Ng said.
George Cardenas, a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, told reporters residents deserve a more robust plan for violence prevention.
“What I notice is people are emboldened, there doesn’t seem to be a plan [to stop them],” Cardenas said. “There’s surveillance, but not enough.”
No arrests have been made. Detectives are investigating.
