A coffee barista in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho recently used her Christmas present to beat a would-be robber at his own game.

Michelle Cornelsen was working at her espresso stand last Wednesday when a 17-year-old boy walked up to the window, pulled a gun and demanded money.

Little did he know the business owner had her own concealed weapon. She had received the 9mm handgun as a Christmas gift from her husband, according to Spokane television station KREM.

"I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh. I don't want to hurt this guy - I will if he hurts me.' He said he was sorry, but he said a man's got a make a living," she recalled. "I just said 'You aren't going to shoot me are you?' And he said, 'No, I don't really want to. I just need you to put the money in the bag.'"

"I'm a business owner and I've got to protect what I have," Cornelsen said.

"Sure enough a customer came around on this side and he covered the gun with his hand," she recalled. "I grabbed mine and put it in his face."

The would-be-robber walked away, but was later arrested by police.