Restaurant owner splats spaghetti at neighbour’s  window during dispute

A dispute between neighbouring business owners in Auckland escalated into a bizarre and heated confrontation this week after a cafe window was splattered with spaghetti during an argument over rubbish bins.

According to Stuff, the altercation involved The Hideout Espresso owner Anderson Mar and Paparazzi Italian restaurant owner Sashe Sterjov on Upper Symonds Street.

Mar said the conflict began on Monday when he briefly visited his cafe, which was closed for the Anzac Day holiday. He claimed Sterjov contacted him about a rubbish bin left outside the premises. Mar believed the bin had previously been taken from his cafe and later returned to the street filled with rubbish. He said he had already arranged for a replacement and normally kept bins at the back of the property.

According to Mar, Sterjov sent him a photo of the overflowing bin before knocking aggressively on the cafe’s glass storefront while he was working in the kitchen. After an exchange of words, Mar refused to move the bin immediately, saying he was not prepared to deal with it on his day off, as reported by Stuff.

The situation escalated when Sterjov allegedly returned carrying spaghetti and hurled it at the cafe window. CCTV footage later obtained by Stuff captured the confrontation that followed.

During the exchange, Sterjov can reportedly be heard saying: “F...ing Asians… go back to f...ing China,” as quoted by Stuff.

He also tells Mar to go back to his country and describes New Zealand as a European, Christian nation.

Mar, who said he is Chinese and was born in Fiji before moving to New Zealand at age ten, told Stuff he responded angrily to Sterjov, whom he said is originally from Macedonia.

The footage shows the two men shoving each other at the cafe entrance before briefly separating. Mar is then seen throwing some of the spaghetti back toward the neighbouring restaurant, prompting another confrontation in which both men appear to exchange blows before moving out of camera view, Stuff has reported.

Police confirmed officers attended a disorder incident on Symonds Street linked to an ongoing dispute between the parties.

“We have since received further information which will be assessed before making any decisions,” a police spokesperson said, Stuff has quoted.

Stuff reported that the additional material provided to police included the CCTV footage of the incident.

Sterjov has not publicly responded to the allegations despite repeated attempts by Stuff to contact him.

Mar, who runs the cafe largely on his own, said the incident had left him shaken and increasingly anxious.

“Everyone’s so friendly,” he said of the neighbourhood. “Everyone says hi, I’ve been here for eight years, I haven’t had any problem except next door,” as quoted by Stuff.

He said he decided to speak publicly about the confrontation in the hope of preventing similar incidents in the future.

“I don’t want people to experience that,” Stuff has quoted.