The ABC store in Fairfield, all but leveled in a June tornado, just reopened with a new-and-improved shop and inventory, but the excitement was short-lived.

About 8:16 p.m. Thursday, a lone gunman entered the store and carried out a holdup. Fairfield police chief Nick Dyer said there were no injuries. The suspect fled, but police said they are working several promising leads.

The gunman, authorities said, fled with an undisclosed amount of cash and a bottle of Grey Goose vodka.

The robbery happened just two weeks after the store, in front of the old Western Hills Mall, reopened on Aug. 30 after being hit by the June 22 EF-2 tornado. The twister hit about 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. that day, destroying the ABC store, along with neighbors KFC and Express Oil Change.

A nearby strip mall also was heavily damaged, as were parts of the nearby public housing community Mattie Gill Jackson Gardens. Three people at the ABC store and a woman in a nearby neighborhood suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospitals.

The following day, the state had to finish the job the tornado started by smashing the remainder of $287,000 worth of liquor. Though much of that liquor seemed untouched and remained upright on the shelves although the walls had been obliterated, Store #17's inventory had to be destroyed out of fear of contamination or unseen damage.

Dyer said the timing of the robbery is unfortunate. "It's sad,'' the chief said. "I couldn't believe it when I heard."

Store employees declined to comment on the holdup, but ABC Board spokesman Dean Argo agreed with Dyer. "Everyone worked so hard to get that store back up and running,'' Argo said. "It's a shame that thieves have to ruin things."