Some local Domino’s Pizza employees are shaken up after two armed robberies took place at their stores last Friday.
Sydnie Awa, a delivery driver at the Domino’s in Arroyo Grande, says at around 9 p.m. Friday, two masked men came into their shop with guns, demanding money.
She says she and her coworkers quickly complied.
About an hour after the robbers took off, the same thing happened at another Domino’s location only 20 minutes away.
“It was pretty scary,” Awa recalled. “They both had guns and kept waving them at us and threatening multiple times, 'I am going to shoot, I am going to shoot you,' if we didn’t give them what they wanted.”
Awa says while Arroyo Grande police were still on scene investigating the robbery, she learned that the Domino’s in Orcutt had also been hit.
“Friday night, I received a call from one of our drivers that they had just gotten robbed. This was a little after 10 p.m. After they called me, I headed down to the store,” said Luis Diaz, an area supervisor at the Domino’s Pizza in Orcutt.
He says the intruders at his restaurant were two masked suspects who held his employees at gunpoint as well.
“Our team members were very shaken up,” he told KSBY. “Fortunately, they all followed protocol. That is one of the things to help them be safe during that situation.”
Diaz says as part of employee training, Domino’s Pizza staff are instructed to cooperate with demands during these situations, adding that staff safety is a top priority.
Shortly after the Orcutt Domino’s was robbed, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's officials located and apprehended the suspects, after the car they had been traveling in crashed into another vehicle just minutes away from the restaurant.
“There was a vehicle pursuit, and three individuals were ultimately arrested. The investigation is ongoing. We are working closely with our partners at the sheriff’s department to try to tie these incidents together,” explained Arroyo Grande Police Commander David Culver.
Although Commander Culver believes these robberies were isolated incidents, employees at both Domino’s locations admit they are still in shock.
“We weren’t expecting it. In the moment, we just went with it and did what they told us to do. I think over these past few days it is still sinking in for a lot of us,” Awa said.
“This has actually never happened here before, but we are just thankful that all of our team members are safe,” Diaz added.
The two Domino’s Pizza locations that were robbed are under the same ownership, but both told us they have no connection to the suspects.
Both Diaz and Awa say Domino’s staff members at their restaurants have been offered free counseling services following the incidents. They say the employees who were involved have all returned to work but that they are simply shaken up.
We reached out to Domino’s corporate office for comment but did not hear back.
