Deer causes chaos in restaurant after crashing through glass window

SALEM, Va. (WSLS) - A restaurant in Virginia had a big clean up on their hands after an unexpected customer came in earlier this week.

A deer crashed through a glass door at Awful Arthur’s in Salem at around 10 p.m. Wednesday before it ran through its dining room and kitchen.

Phoenix St. Clair was in the process of relaxing with coworkers and having a beverage when she said the doe barged in.

“All of a sudden, I hear there’s a deer in here,” St. Clair described. “And we are all like, ‘What?’”

The doe bust through the front door, gathered itself and started running while looking for an exit.

In this case, the nearest exit was through customers.

“Everyone just goes into shock mode. I stood to the side because I was nervous,” St. Clair said. “I was not trying to be in the line of fire of the deer running out.”

Christina Twine, who works at Awful Arthur’s, was eating dinner when she saw the doe.

“I heard a big, loud bang that resembled a gunshot, but I wasn’t sure,” Twine described.

The doe made its way through the restaurant near the pool table and eventually out the door.

“I turned around and looked at the person sitting in the hallway and he looked at me wide-eyed, and he said ‘It’s a deer.’ It was probably between 30 and 45 seconds,” Twine added. “It all went down very quickly.”

Customers were left stunned.

“Honestly, we all said, ‘Let’s take a shot,’ and we’re going to go home because that was enough for us,” St. Clair said.

No humans were hurt, despite damage to the front door.

“When we came to the door front and saw glass shattered and the protrusion of the door, we were a little shocked,” Twine said.

The glass door was already replaced. Staff said they hope it’s deer resistant.

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