Chen said Tuesday's robbery raises concerns that he hopes the police will soon address.
"I pay a lot of taxes," Chen said. "I think it's wrong that [crimes] happen here so often."
Pasquarello said he agrees that crime in the area is a problem, but he doesn't perceive the rate as being unusually high.
He cited a CPD crime analysis that showed that total crime in Cambridge has declined in the first two quarters of this year.
Reported robberies are down 18 percent--and down 50 percent in the neighborhood around the store, according to the CPD report.
"It's an area with a lot of foot traffic, and we've made a lot of arrests there before," Pasquarello said. "But it's no different than any other part of Cambridge. All in all, it's a relatively safe area."