‘Is this some kind of joke?’: Kelliher bar owner recalls armed robbery

The owner of the Club 15 Cheers Tavern in Kelliher says he stayed back after last call early Saturday morning to do the books, thinking somebody might stop by to make a purchase from the offsale.

Gerald Faye says he then heard the door open and in came three people with their faces covered.

” ‘Oh, what the hell, is this some kind of joke?’ ” Faye recalls thinking as one of them pulled out a toy gun.

But then the 67-year-old Faye says he was struck in the head with some kind of weapon.

The RCMP says it was a rubber hammer. Faye says he later figured it might have actually been a machete, another weapon listed in a police news release.

Faye says he was then thrown to the ground and held back.

“He kept yelling, ‘Give me the keys to the VLT or I’ll kill ya, give me the keys to the VLT or I’ll kill ya,’ ” Faye says, referring to one of the robbers.

Faye says the till and the float for the VLTs were emptied of at least $5,000. He also estimates a few hundred dollars worth of liquor was stolen.

The initial police release says the suspects left with $1,500 cash and as many as eight bottles.

As for his injuries, Faye says the blow to his head drew blood but because the bleeding had stopped, he declined a trip on the ambulance.

“I’m Polish and we’ve got hard heads,” he says.

Thanks to surveillance footage, Faye — a Kelliher resident of about 10 years — says he knows who his assailants are and that they were customers of his.

So far, police haven’t said if they have any suspects in mind and will only say the investigation is ongoing.

The bar is the primary source of Faye’s income as he’s trying to leave farming.

However, he’s still busy baling on the farm and says the incident has left his only employee afraid to work. It also changed how he views the village.

All of that is on top of the financial loss.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do payroll at the end of the month here,” Faye says.