WADSWORTH, Ohio — The Sub Station, a sub, soup and salad restaurant located in Wadsworth, is temporarily closed as the owners and employees pick up the pieces of shattered glass and repair the damage left by a buck that ran through the front door of the restaurant.
Around 4:50 p.m. on Monday, a deer crashed into the family-owned business. He caused extensive damage, by knocking over tables and chairs in the dining room, ripping a sink off a wall in the kitchen and tearing up a section of the ceiling with his antlers after jumping in a hallway.
Some of the incident was captured on surveillance video from the shop and from police body-worn cameras. One video shows glass flying before the deer leaps into the business and jumps over a counter and into the kitchen.
Employees posted two witty signs outside of the shop on Tuesday. One reads, "Sorry we are closed today. The buck stopped here!" The second sign reads, "Oh, Deer! We are closed today.
There were about five customers and five employees inside the restaurant when the deer made his startling entrance, according to manager Joyce Vaughn.
Vaughn said the deer appeared to be badly injured and lost of a lot of blood throughout the business.
"He went crazy. He came in, went straight to back, tried to go up the steps, came back through here and just started like a ping pong ball. He was just going everywhere," Vaughn said. "I mean, you're shocked. You're first initial (reaction) is what the heck? Where did you come from and why are you in town?"
Vaughn called 911. Employees ran out of the shop as the deer moved to the back of the building.
Police arrived and told the remaining customers to get out. Officers took precautions and tried to coax the big buck out, but did not approach it for their own safety and for the protection of the animal.
It took about 30 minutes for the deer to leave on his own through a propped-open side door. He then bolted through downtown Wadsworth.
Employees were grateful the frightening four-legged intrusion didn't end even worse.
"If anybody would have been at the counter, they would have been impaled. They probably would not have made it," Vaughn said. "Just thank God nobody got hurt."
The shop was closed on Monday as workers continued an extensive cleanup effort. The owners are hoping to reopen on Wednesday or later in the week.
"Shelli and I are very appreciative to all who have stepped up to help and to all that have offered to help. We hope to be opened back up very soon," owner Matt Reed said in a Facebook post.
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