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Fight breaks out in Park Ridge Starbucks after man berates barista

A customer came to the defense of a Starbucks barista who was being yelled at by another customer, and it lead to a bloody altercation in a downtown Park Ridge coffee shop Sunday afternoon.

No one was seriously injured, and no one involved wanted to press charges, Park Ridge police said Monday.

"It was an argument that went very wrong," said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Duane Mellema.

Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Starbucks on 100 S. Euclid Ave., a 26-year-old Canoga Park, California, man who was not happy with his drink order was "hollering at and berating" the barista, Mellema said. That's when another customer, a 28-year-old Glenview man, came to the barista's defense.

"He says, 'Why don't you stop being such a jerk about this.' Of course the words weren't exactly that," Mellema said.

The words between the two men escalated, and the California man slapped the Glenview man, police said. The two started fighting and ended up on the ground. Mellema said the Glenview man's small pocket knife surfaced during the fight, with a 2½-inch to 3-inch blade. The California man grabbed the open knife, cutting his hand, police said.

Customers exiting the store found a Cook County sheriff's police officer who happened to be in the area. She broke up the fight until Park Ridge police arrived.

No one was taken to the hospital and nothing more than bandages were needed to treat the knife wounds, he added.

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