The financial hit wasn’t enough to interrupt operations, but the first robbery since the business opened in October 2024 has left Happy Crab owner Lily Wu in fear.

The restaurant recently opened at 22 A Street Southwest in Auburn. Wu, the owner, said at around 9 p.m. March 14, her business experienced a robbery while the restaurant was still fairly busy, losing $400 in cash. Wu said following the robbery, they are not accepting cash anymore unless it’s all someone has. She said this has become the norm for her other businesses in Seattle as well as others near her due to robberies.

Although Wu was upstairs and not in the lobby, her employee, Austin Pickinpaugh, said he experienced the robbery firsthand and attempted to stop the suspect. He said the man was very aggressive.

Watch a video of the incident:

Pickinpaugh said the incident began when a group of what appeared to be four arrived, but it turned out the suspect had pretended to be part of their group. Pickinpaugh said after the suspect walked away from the group and toward the register, he knew something was wrong.

Pickinpaugh said the suspect opened the register, and as he went to stop him, the man became aggressive and started to reach for his pocket. Pickinpaugh said the suspect told him not to stop him, and he didn’t do anything more because he didn’t know what the suspect would do.

Pickinpaugh said he tried to stall the man as he walked toward the exit to keep him on camera, but he ultimately pushed his way through to get out of the restaurant. Pickinpaugh said he thinks the suspect might have been to the restaurant before because he knew where the key to the register was placed.

Pickinpaugh said that during the robbery, his mind couldn’t comprehend that the store was actually being robbed, and so he just tried to keep calm. He said after the robbery, he centered himself and got back to the customers because they still needed to be helped.

“He was basically just being like, ‘It’s not you, it’s not you, it’s them, it’s the system,’” Pickinpaugh said. He said he wasn’t sure what caused the suspect’s behavior, but it seemed he wasn’t in good shape.

According to Auburn Police Department spokesperson Kolby Crossley, there is no suspect information at this time, but a detective has been assigned to the case. Crossley said someone who commits a crime like this would at most be charged with strong-arm robbery.

“If this happens to you, it’s best to comply and then immediately call the police,” Crossley said. “Items can be replaced, but you cannot. Keep yourself safe.”

Wu said that when she found out what happened, it was a terrifying experience. Wu said she lost some cash, but told her staff not to get involved in future incidents because their safety is more important. However, she said she bought pepper spray for employees in case they need to protect themselves.

Wu said it was a low cash night, so she could deal with the $400 loss, and now she doesn’t want to dwell on the past. Wu said she wants to move on and increase safety measures at the restaurant. She said she usually donates money a few times yearly, so she’s looking at the loss like a donation.

“I’m trying to think positive. Everything happened, now we can improve it, like a bug,” Wu said. “We fix the bug, and we’ll be stronger and we’ll have less issues in the future.”

Wu said she’s from a small town in the countryside of China, so when she came to Seattle, she noticed it was busier and there was more crime. After owning multiple noodle shops in Seattle and living there, she said she’s tired of it.

Wu said she found Auburn, and she liked how it was a smaller town that was cleaner and had nice people, so she decided to open a business here. Wu said she ultimately wants to move to Auburn, and she’s opening a new hand-pulled noodle shop, Xi’an Noodles, at the mall because she wants more businesses to come to Auburn.

Despite the robbery, Wu said she wants to continue working in Auburn and see its economy grow. However, Wu said if people like the robbery suspect aren’t apprehended, crime issues will continue to grow in Auburn.

“He may do more serious things, or carry a weapon in the future, who knows,” Wu said. “It’s so easy [for him] to get money if he keeps growing his business like this. He might get worse.”

See video of the incident below:

Happy Crab’s lobby. Courtesy photo.