Barbecue shop robbed at gunpoint

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are searching for two men who robbed a Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q restaurant at gunpoint late Sunday night.

A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report states two men approached the restaurant, 631 67th St. Circle E., at

around 10:43 p.m., Nov. 8, as an employee was taking the trash out the back door.

The first suspect, described as a white male with a heavy build and wearing a gray hoodie and bandana, approached the employee and asked if the restaurant was still open. The employee became suspicious because both suspects had their faces covered. He ran inside and tried to close the door, but one of the suspects was able to get a hand inside the door and force it open.

The victim and another employee then were forced into the back room, where they were ordered to the ground by the suspects, the report states.

The second suspect, described as a slender white female wearing a dark blue hoodie and bandana and dark-colored pants, went into the manager’s office and ordered another employee there to open the safe and then to the ground, the report states.

The suspecs then took the cash out of the safe, checked the contents of one victim’s wallet and made all three victims get into the cooler.

The suspects fled with about $5,900.