He took the money, but couldn't steal the charm

You could drop the Sweet Time Cafe into a small town like Mayberry and it Pittsburgh Steelers Authentic Jerseys wouldn't seem out of place, so when a guy walked in late one afternoon with what he said was a gun under his Steelers jersey, that was a very big deal.Barbara Burns, the former city councilwoman who owns the narrow, decoratively cluttered gift and coffee shop on the North Side's East Ohio Street, was glad she was alone behind the counter. Her 6-year-old grandnephew, Miles, is there quite a bit."He looked at me very sternly,'' she said of the robber, "and said, 'Give me all your money.'"She asked if he was kidding. He said he had a gun and repeated his demand for cash. That's when she slid off her stool and told him, "You know you're in a federal facility."I didn't tell him that because I thought he wanted stamps.''The Sweet Time Cafe doubles as a postal contract station. Most people coming through the door want stamps, or to mail a package, or to buy a postal money order to pay a bill. This guy didn't care and just kept wading into his federal offense.He went out the door with a wad of bills, a few of which dropped on the sidewalks as he fled. Ms. Burns hit the panic button for the security system that alerted police, called 911 on her cell from the sidewalk for good measure, then went inside to call the Allegheny branch of the U.S. James Harrison Jersey Postal Service. Within five minutes, city police and postal inspectors were in the store.That was 3:33 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. Five weeks to the day later, a postal inspector told Ms. Burns they had the guy.Conviction for armed robbery of a postal station can bring a maximum of 25 years in prison. If use of a dangerous weapon can't be proven, the robber can still get up to 10 years.This robber didn't think his caper through, because guys who knock over postal branches are asking for an instant infamy the average stickup doesn't bring. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service posted a $5,000 reward and distributed fliers around the North Side with blurry surveillance photos from private businesses down the street showing a heavyset, 30- to 40-year-old man in a vintage Franco Harris jersey, and supplied a phone number promising that information would be kept confidential.Many other victimized shop owners can only wish for that kind of help.Neither the U.S. Postal Service nor the U.S. attorney will say much until a grand jury is empaneled to indict the suspect. Spokespersons for both federal agencies declined to give specifics, but one thing's sure.Ms. Burns' shop isn't going anywhere.She opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday, having spent Labor Day packing the shelves with Halloween-themed gifts and such. Opened seven years ago this week, while Ms. Burns was still a councilwoman, it's there because she wanted to boost the East Allegheny neighborhood, also known as Deutschtown."Things aren't the same as they used to be, except here,'' Stephanie Havrilla of Allegheny Center said Tuesday morning, having arrived with tape and scissors to help in her complicated task Mike Wallace Jersey of mailing gift packages across the state to relatives."It's the little general store with the post office,'' she said, and then checked for what was new on the shelves."We never met a flower we didn't order,'' Ms. Burns said, not long before she encouraged a customer to get a book of the flower stamps rather than the standard flags.The only thing different now is that Ms. Burns won't be handling money orders until she upgrades the security system. Customers who asked for money orders this week were directed to the Federal Street post office almost a half-mile away.It doesn't take a full morning to see what this little post office means to the neighborhood. On a street known more for its bars and pawn shops, the walk-in trade is constant and Ms. Burns knows most of them. She said some customers must buy stamps one at a time to stay within their budgets. The street went without a postal station for four years before she opened hers.You can find planning theory that details why post offices are crucial for the survival of neighborhoods and downtowns. Earl Blumenauer, a congressman from Portland, Ore., has unsuccessfully pushed legislation to require the Postal Service to comply with local zoning and planning laws before closing or moving a post office.But all it takes is an hour in the Sweet Time Cafe to know why places like this matter.