Four Star Pizza owner Marico Thomas will close his Angle Street shop on Halloween after masked machete-brandishing robbers held up the outlet on Sunday and got away with $2,000.

And Mr. Thomas will take extra steps to improve security at all his shops in the lead-up to Halloween, which he said usually sees an increases in thefts.

The two masked men entered the Angle Street store through the back door at around 11 p.m. on Sunday and held three workers at machete-point as they helped themselves to cash in the till.

Employees told Police that the crooks also took one of the complainants to the safe by machete-point, however, there was no money in the safe. Pizza store employees were then made to empty their wallets and pockets and watched as the thieves helped themselves to the money and ran away.

Mr. Thomas said this was the first time this particular shop had been robbed, although drivers in the past have been robbed of money pouches and pizza. He said the thieves managed to get in through a back door to the shop.

Although he has no plans to restrict weekend hours, Mr. Thomas, a former Police officer, said the store will be closed on Halloween night.

The lead up to the holiday usually brings with it an increase in theft despite the extra employees on property and increased lighting.

?It?s a disappointment more than anything else,? he said. ?It?s unfortunate because we try to have a very open environment but we have become more and closed as people. There are a few measures we will have to adopt to exercise even more caution.?

Drivers now only carry small amounts of cash with them as a security measure, returning to make deposits as they continue deliveries, said Mr. Thomas.

Police are describing one of the suspects as five feet, eight inches tall, of slim build with an ear ring. He was wearing blue jeans with pockets and a black sweat top with a mask covering his face.

The second suspect is described as five feet, six inches tall, of medium build, wearing patched blue jeans, a black sweat shirt and a mask.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police CID at 295-0011.