Popular Henrietta restaurant robbed at gunpoint, employees tied up by suspect

The BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Henrietta was robbed by a masked, armed suspect overnight Friday, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies responded to the restaurant on Jefferson Road on Friday morning at 3:42 a.m., according to a press release. An investigation found that a suspect wearing a ski mask jumped over a fence outside the restaurant at 12:58 a.m., and remained near a kitchen exit door for several hours.

When a restaurant employee came through the door to take out the trash, the suspect confronted the employee with a gun, the release said. The employee was forced back into the restaurant and held, with another employee, at gunpoint. The suspect tied both employees' hands, and stole an undisclosed amount of money from inside the restaurant, the sheriff's office said. The suspect fled on foot.

An investigation is ongoing. On X, the sheriff's office asked anyone with information about the robbery to call 911 or email mcsotips@monroecounty.gov, and include the reference number 24-068250.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse opened on Jefferson Road, near Market Square Plaza, last year. The Henrietta location was the California-based chain restaurant's first in western New York.