JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Westside café is back in business just two days after the 79-year-old owner was shot.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Bob Ayers was opening his shop early Wednesday when he was robbed, beaten and shot in the leg. Ayers was back behind the stove Friday, doing what he's loved since he was a teenager.
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“I started when I got out of high school,” said Ayers.
Ayers described the tense moments to Action News Jax.
“I heard a little jingle and I turned there was a pistol barrel hanging over my shoulder,” said Ayers.
The business owner said he fought back as best he could but still ended up with a bullet in his leg.
”Didn’t hit a muscle, didn’t hit a bone,” said Ayers.
Customers like Jennifer Vileno say they are glad to see him back at it so quickly. But they are now keeping a closer eye on the café, and the owner, they love.
“What can we do to keep this happening again? That’s been a main concern because if they did it once will they do it again?’ said Vileno.