Five workers were locked in a room during an armed robbery at a bar in east Belfast, police have said.
Up to six masked men, armed with a handgun, crowbar and mallet went into Horatio Todd's on the Upper Newtownards Road at around 1.40am on Friday.
The gang forced the staff into a room and locked the door.
Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers believes the Ballyhackamore attack was well-planned.
"Those involved must have been keeping an eye on the building, watching staff movements and preparing to strike", he told UTV.
"This sort of attack, on a significant local employer, is detrimental on so many levels. There have been several robberies of a similar nature in this area in recent times, and I am deeply concerned by the impact on businesses and on staff who must feel increasingly vulnerable," he said.
Local DUP MLA Robin Newton has also condemned the robbery.
"It is sad to see that a thriving new popular business in East Belfast has been targeted by a gang of thugs who exercised violence and fear on hard working staff at the dead of night.
"This business has gained a first class reputation in a remarkably short space of time and I appeal for anyone who knows anything of the criminals who targeted it to report it to the police immediately."
The gang made off with a safe, which is believed to have contained several thousand pounds.
© UTV News