Bad blood between a pizza shop owner and a former employee spilled over Thursday when the owner accused the man of assaulting him with a hot cup of coffee.

At about 9:30 a.m., the former employee, 27, entered the restaurant while workers prepared for the day, wanting to say hello to his former colleagues, according to a Bremerton Police report. The owner, 35, who had repeatedly told the former employee not to come back after he was fired in October, emerged from the kitchen, telling the former employee to leave. While the owner pushed the former employee toward the door, the former employee spilled his cup of hot coffee onto the left side of the owner’s body. The owner later told police he thought the coffee was intentionally dumped on him.

Bremerton police contacted the former employee, who said the owner grabbed him before he could respond to the command to get out and the coffee spill was an accident. He showed police marks on his upper left arm where the owner grabbed him.

Police forwarded the report to the city prosecutor for review and charging.