VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Three California men were taken into custody Wednesday after a restaurant robbery in Vancouver.

The robbery happened at about 5 a.m. at the Shari's Restaurant on Southeast 164th Avenue and McGillivray Boulevard.

Police said two armed men entered the restaurant and demanded money from the cash register. They left Shari's, joined their getaway driver and headed north out of Vancouver.

Manager Mark Gurney said he tries to prepare his staff for this very situation.

"A lot of times what I'll tell my employees is one, to be very careful. It's not worth your life, anything that you do. And don't make eye contact with them, look at the floor as much as possible," Gurney said.

And that's exactly what they did.

Police said the thieves left with the money and got into a black Lincoln, but some customers made sure to get the license plate number and called it in.

Clark County deputies later spotted the car linked to the robbery on Interstate 205. A chase began and surrounding agencies were notified to help in the pursuit.

Police said the chase ended in Longview after the car hit spike strips laid down on the road.

Riding only on rims, the suspects got off the freeway and drove through Longview, right past Lorna Keane.

"I heard the scraping of the metal coming down the street," Keane said.

Officers said the three men tried to run away, but police were able to catch them and take them into custody.

"I saw the three guys taking off from the car running and the cops everywhere chasing them. It was pretty cool," Keane said.

Albert Youngblood, 26, was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Samuel Ferguson III, 33, was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm and attempt to elude.

John Fitzpatrick, 36, was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm.

All three of the men are from the San Bernadino, Calif., area.

Gurney said he's very grateful to police and his employees.

"They did actually a very stellar job, they took care of the place, nobody was injured and it went very good," Gurney said.