Police Called After Altercation at Mozza

On the evening of Friday 10 October, an altercation occurred between a belligerent customer and the general manager of Mozza, the Italian restaurant located on Bell Street. No customers or staff members were injured.

Following the incident, the general manager, who wishes to be kept unnamed, spoke to The Saint about the series of events. 

“A young man [from] the age[s] of 32 [to] 34 came in, and he asked for a pizza and a drink,” the general manager said. “We told him he was welcome to get pizza but no alcohol, because he looked like he was under the influence of drugs. So, he ordered a pizza [...] and then he threw £10 to the girl who was behind the bar, saying, ‘Put this in your pocket because your manager steals all the money.’ And [then] he started to swear.”

At this point, the general manager intervened, ensuring the customer that the restaurant pays all of its staff: “I said, ‘You got the wrong guy. I work here, and everybody gets paid here. So why are you saying that?’” 

The situation quickly escalated when the customer started an altercation with the general manager, grabbing his shirt and trying to headbutt him. The general manager pushed him back, and another customer, seated on the upper level of the restaurant, filmed the incident and called the police.

The perpetrator ran away before the police arrived on the scene, but not before smashing the exterior window of the restaurant. 

“He pushed the door very hard towards [the window],” said the General Manager. “Because there is a metal handle [on] the door, it went against the glass.”

The window shattered, scattering shards of glass both inside the restaurant and on Bell Street. The window had since been boarded up.

Police arrived within the hour to take a statement from the general manager. 

During a follow-up discussion with the general manager on Wednesday October 15, he reported that the police had not yet been able to identify the perpetrator and that the window was expected to be repaired sometime next week.

Image by Eden Leavey