[Update: Monday evening, the suspect was apprehended, according to the Bottega owner.]
WILMINGTON — A business in the Brooklyn Arts District was robbed Sunday.
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The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. on July 21 at Bottega Art & Wine — a local bar, music venue, and art space located at 723 N. Fourth Street. The perpetrator took all the money in the cash register and the bartender’s cellphone.
According to owner Addie Wuensch, the unidentified robber was armed. He initially posed as a regular customer, ordering a Pepsi, but when the bartender on duty, Rayana Briggs, tried to process his payment, his card was declined. The customer then went behind the bar, cornered Briggs, and revealed a bulge in his pocket, implying he had a gun, and demanded money from the register.
“I was caught completely off guard,” Briggs told Port City Daily Monday. “I’ve never felt fear like that — someone making me do something I don’t want to do.”
Wuensch, who wasn’t there, said she arrived on site as soon as a neighbor called to inform her what had happened.
“He trapped her behind the bar, then took her phone so she couldn’t call 911 or anything,” Wuensch said.
Two customers were also at the bar, however, on the back patio, away from the robbery indoors.
Briggs informed the two customers immediately following the robbery what happened and asked them to leave. She then went to Goat and Compass to get help.
“I was just scared he was gonna come back or something,” Briggs recalled. “I just wanted people to leave — keep everyone safe.”
The Wilmington Police Department arrived at the bar around 5 p.m.
Briggs, whose phone is still missing, said she used its built-in tracker to trace it to a location on Campbell Street, four blocks from Bottega, on Monday. However, law enforcement advised her not to pursue the phone for safety reasons.
In a release Monday, WPD describe the robber as “a Black male in his 30s with a buzz cut, stocky/heavy set, wearing a gray shirt and jeans.”
At the time of the robbery, Wuensch noted he was wearing a hand towel on his head.
Wuensch commended Briggs for her bravery and handing over the money from the register without contest.
“That’s exactly what should happen,” she said. “Because I’d rather, any day, lose stuff than my friends.”
Though everyone is safe, Briggs said she was still feeling unsettled by the situation.
Wuensch expressed relief the security cameras captured the entire incident, providing footage to police. While no arrests have been made, she mentioned there are leads regarding his identity.
Both Wuensch and Briggs also felt solace from the outpouring of support on social media and from other local business owners.
“When something like that happens, it really goes to show that there’s so much love in this community, and people take care of each other, especially on North Fourth Street,” Wuensch said.
She has owned the bar since 2016 and moved it from Princess Street to its current location on Fourth Street. Since then, it has become a hub for artists, musicians, and creatives to showcase work and perform.
“Bottega is a very friendly environment where a lot of people have different backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders,” Briggs said. “Anyone — like different backgrounds — can just come in and feel safe and have a place where they belong.”
The Wilmington Police Department asks that anyone with information contact the police department at (910) 343-3600 or use Tip 411.
Reach journalist Jalyn Baldwin at jalyn@localdailymedia.com.
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