New hours follow knife-point robbery

An Ottawa business owner said she’ll be making some changes after she reportedly was robbed at knife-point and threatened early Friday morning.

She’s changing the hours at her restaurant and taking security precautions as a result of the robbery.

The 68-year-old woman was on her way to work at The Windmill Cafe, 1010 N. Main St., at about 4:15 a.m. Friday when she was confronted by a man with a knife in her yard in the 900 block of North King Street, according to the woman and a report from the Ottawa Police Department.

The man demanded cash and the woman gave him what she had on her at the time, police said. He threatened to hurt the woman and her son, who was inside the house, if she didn’t cooperate, she said.

The man then ordered her to go to the cafe and open the ATM machine, while he stayed at her house. He told her he would hurt her son if she didn’t, she said.

But when she arrived at the business she discovered someone already had broken in and stolen the ATM machine, the report said. No one was at the cafe when she arrived.

“I’m OK,” she said later Friday morning. “I’m just glad I wasn’t hurt and my son wasn’t hurt.”

The Windmill Cafe was closed Friday “due to unforseen circumstances,” a sign on the door read.

The restaurant was to re-open at 7 a.m. today, the owner said. She’s changing the hours from a 5 a.m. opening to 7 a.m., so that the cafe is open primarily during daylight hours, she said. The cafe still will close at 2 p.m.

She also plans to install extra security features at the business, she said.

The robbery suspect was described as a thin man wearing dark clothes and a dark hoody, police said.

Anyone who has information about the crime is asked to call Franklin County Crime Stoppers at (888) 311-8477 or the Ottawa Police Department at (785) 242-2561 and ask to speak with a detective.