An investigation has been launched after a thief threw a brick through the glass door of Newcastle's newest pizzeria during an early morning break-in.
Scream For Pizza on the city's Quayside has only been open for three months but now it is facing costly repairs after being targeted by a thief who tried to steal cash from the till.
The restaurant, founded by Victoria Featherby and Alexandra Walker, was broken into at around 7am on Monday, December 6 - but nothing was taken.
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Sarah Kilby, operations manager at Scream For Pizza, said: "An NE1 street cleaner came across the [break-in] this morning and called the police, who then contacted us.
"Someone has thrown a brick through the window and they have had a rifle around through the till but, obviously, there's nothing in there.
"They have not taken anything, they have just had a look to see if there was any cash and left."
Directors Victoria and Alexandra have put their heart and soul into building the business after leaving their cruise ship jobs in 2010 to move to Naples and train at the celebrated La Notizia restaurant under chef Enzo Coccias.
The pair launched a mobile food van service from a converted former French army ambulance in Newcastle in 2014 and opened their first restaurant in Sandyford five years later.
The pair had only just celebrated opening the Quayside restaurant before the break-in, which they believe has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the glass door.
"It is really disappointing, especially when we have only been open for three months and spent a lot of money refitting it and trying to get stuff sorted to make it successful," Sarah said.
"So for something like this to come along, it's not helpful."
The business did not have to close following the incident as it is not open on Mondays, but owners are now assessing when it will be able to reopen this week.
Thankfully, nothing there was no other damage to the premises.
In a post to followers on Instagram, Scream For Pizza said the break-in had come as a "huge blow," particularly in the run-up to Christmas.
"As a small local business, this is a huge blow, especially so close to Christmas and with the last 18 months hospitality has had," the post read,
"It’ll get fixed and we’ll come back fighting but not the best start to our week!"
Northumbria Police have confirmed an investigation into the incident is ongoing and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
A force spokesman said: “At 7am today (Monday) police received a report of a break-in at Scream for Pizza, Newcastle Quayside.
"It was reported that a brick had been thrown through the window of the premises by an offender who has then entered the premises before leaving empty-handed.
"Enquiries into the incident remain ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police using the Tell us Something page on our website quoting crime reference 135517G/21."
