Police investigate Burger King robbery in Southpark

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police in Charlotte are looking for two men who robbed a fast-food restaurant near Southpark early Friday morning.

The robbery happened not long after the Burger King restaurant opened on Fairview Road.

An employee who was in the store said two men came in around 5:40 a.m.

He said one of them was wearing a mask and had a gun.

He said they demanded cash and stayed five or six minutes before leaving with the money.

Detectives spent several hours at the restaurant Friday talking with employees and trying to get surveillance pictures from the restaurant's security cameras.

As of Friday afternoon, they had not made the surveillance pictures public.

The robbery in one of Charlotte's more upscale shopping and business centers took many by surprise.

"It was like any other day," said Ed Huntley.

A police patrol car stayed in the parking lot for most of the morning, and many customers walked in and out of the restaurant without any idea of what had happened.

But one local business owner suggested that the robbery has opened his eyes.

"The reason we opened up here is because we considered it to be a very safe place," said Pete Nash, who owns The Exercise Coach, a gym in a building behind the Burger King.

"It could happen to our gym or any other business here if they're not careful," he said.

WSOC