See it: 3 women allegedly trash Lower East Side fry shop over dispute over extra dipping sauce
NEW YORK -- A violent attack was caught on camera -- over extra dipping sauce worth less than $2.
Two restaurant workers at a Lower East Side French fry shop were hit with glass bottles early Sunday morning after police say a group of women refused to pay for their extra sauce, CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported Thursday.
The sound of the alarm did little to stop three women from thrashing Bel Fries on Ludlow Street. As they climbed over the counter, they took aim at the staff just inches away.
"Two of my employees were hit in the head with glass bottles," owner Annalee Schlossberg said.
Schlossberg wasn't present during the attack. Instead, she said she woke up to the video of the chaos.
"It's a nightmare, honestly," Schlossberg said.
The anger was all over dipping sauce. The women didn't want to pay $1.75 for an extra one.
"There's something going on with them, and it didn't have to do with us, clearly, because it was over sauce. That shouldn't call for that behavior," Schlossberg said.
Video shows the three women rip apart everything in sight, and behind them is a crowd of dozens, at times cheering.
"As mad as these women were, as crazy as they were acting, I think that was egging them on," Schlossberg said of the crowd.
Police said two workers were taken to the hospital and treated for cuts.
Police did arrest the three women in their 20s, who are now facing felony charges. Chitara Plasencia and Tatiyanna Johnson were later released. Pearl Ozoria had to post bail. She's accused of stealing $10 from the register and punching an arresting officer in the face. They're all due back in court on Friday.
Meanwhile, it took took until Thursday for the place to reopen.
"My number one priority is making sure all of my employees are not only physically okay but mentally okay. I know they're suffering from traumatic shock from the event," Schlossberg said.
To try and prevent something like this from happening again, the owner has hired a security guard to work through the weekend, giving the establishment time to add some new safety measures inside.
