Vickie Hummel saw the would-be robber before he even entered the restaurant — and she knew right away that she wasn’t going to let him get away with a crime.
The man wore a black-and-gray mask and wielded an odd weapon — a rolling pin. He entered the Ido Bar and Grill, 1537 S. Main St., at about 3 p.m. on Thursday.
“I grew up with four brothers,” Hummel said Friday. “I know how to fend for myself.”
“He came in and I was puzzled because he pulled out the rolling pin,” Hummel said. “I just thought, ‘What the heck?’ ”
The robber demanded money from the cash register, and Hummel said she responded firmly: “Hell no.”
Asked why she wouldn’t just cooperate, Hummel said crime in the area has prompted her to be less receptive to criminals. In December, 21-year-old Zak Husein was shot and killed by a robber even though he acquiesced to a robber’s demands for money at Premium New York Style Pizza in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood.
“That poor kid who handed over the money still got shot,” Hummel said. “If I’m going down, I’m leaving a mark.”
Right away, Hummel said she started throwing drinking glasses at the masked man. Meanwhile, the only customer in the restaurant noticed a large butcher knife in the man’s back pocket and took it. She threw the weapon behind the counter while Hummel shouted for help from the kitchen staff.
The kitchen staff — Jeremy Green, Craig Pumphrey and Carl Davis — rushed out and tackled the masked man to the ground. Hummel called them her “heroes.” In the confrontation, Green was struck above the eye with the rolling pin.
“I only let him have one hit,” he said.
Hummel said the staff brought the robber outside and held him down until police arrived.
Akron police said the robber was Foster E. Ball, 32, of Cuyahoga Falls. He was charged with aggravated robbery, felonious assault and carrying a concealed weapon. He also had a warrant out for his arrest on charges of inducing panic and making a false alarm.
Ball awaits court proceedings in the Summit County Jail.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.