HELL'S KITCHEN — What's wrong with pepperoni?
An apoplectic pizza parlor patron scratched two of the eatery's employees after one of them told her they didn’t have pizza with chicken on top, police said.
An employee at Merilu Pizza Al Metro told police she was working at the pizzeria at 791 Ninth Ave. around 12:35 a.m. on Feb. 29 when Divya Viveka, 26, came in and ordered pizza with chicken on top.
After the 49-year-old employee told the Manhattan resident that they didn’t have that kind of pie, the customer became “irate” and scratched the employee’s palm, the worker told police.
The clawing left the employee with a cut and redness on her left palm, a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.
When a 39-year-old male employee tried to stop Viveka, she scratched him on his left forearm, leaving him in pain with several scratches, the DA’s office said.
Viveka was arrested and charged with two counts of assault, one count of attempted assault and one count of harassment, the complaint said.
Merilu Pizza Al Metro manager Luciano Granato claimed on Wednesday that in addition to scratching the male employee, Viveka also tried to bite the worker.
“There was some kind of misunderstanding over toppings,” Granato, 28, said. “[The employees] tried to calm her down, but she was hell-bent on having a bad night.”
A friend who was with the woman “did nothing to calm her down,” he added.
Viveka was released on her own recognizance the same day as her arrest and is expected to appear in court on April 13, according to the DA’s office.
An attorney for Viveka did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday.
