10 hours ago
Video shows deer smashing through window of popular New Hampshire brunch restaurant
A popular brunch restaurant in New Hampshire is closed temporarily after sustaining damage from an unexpected visitor. Surveillance video showed a deer smashing through the front window of The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth Friday morning.
It happened at about 7 a.m. while staff members were getting ready to open the Congress Street eatery. No customers were inside yet. The crash sends glass, dishes and silverware flying as the frightened deer runs around the restaurant.
Employees called police, but no people were hurt and the deer appeared to be OK as well.
"Our talented (and brave) sous chef got the deer out our back door without any issues and we didn't observe any injuries," The Friendly Toast posted to social media.
The window is being repaired and the restaurant will reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Ownership is hoping to turn the frightening incident into something positive. They are pledging to donate a "Buck" from every Market Square Mimosa sold in Portsmouth through June 27 to the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, Maine. The organization treats thousands of injured and orphaned wild animals all over New England.
New Hampshire is home to about 100,000 white-tailed deer. June is when the majority of fawns are born, according to the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department.
Deer activity and movement is often highest around dawn and dusk, the agency said. There are about 1,200 collisions involving deer and cars in New Hampshire every year, with a third of them happening between mid-October and November.
