DELTONA, FL (WESH/CNN) - For 15 years, the same family has been operating 'I Love New York Pizza' on Elkcam Boulevard in Deltona, FL, about 30 miles north of Orlando.
They say good service is as important as the food itself, which is why the owner was stunned to get a pizza in the face.
"She opens the box, puts her hands underneath the box and just swings it at me," restaurant owner Giuseppine Frigolino explained.
Frigolino and her 13-year-old son were behind the counter when an irate customer hurled a pizza, hot out of the oven, at her.
The cheese briefly burned her arms. Toppings covered her face and her hair.
“Food is supposed to make somebody happy, not miserable. And I tried to fix the problem and, worst case scenario, I would have made her a new pizza," Frigolino said.
Investigators say the suspect, 61-year-old Leslie Vermilio, ordered two pizzas and got one without the proper toppings.
The owner says she apologized, put fresh toppings on it, put it back in the oven and gave it to Vermilio who allegedly started using foul language, then opened the box and tossed it.
"It hit my face, my arm, my other arm. I didn't deserve it because I was being so nice to her," Frigolino said.
Frigolino threw empty boxes back at the suspect to protect herself and her son but the suspect took off. A waitress got the license plate number for law enforcement.
Frigolino says her family couldn't have stayed in business all these years if the customer didn't come first. To be pummeled with a pizza is the last thing she expected.
"I couldn't believe that actually happened after a day of work. It was horrible," Frigolino said.
The suspect was charged with battery for the pizzeria tussle. She has since bonded out of jail.
Copyright 2018 WESH via CNN. All rights reserved.
