As customers shopped in downtown Geneseo on Tuesday afternoon, an unexpected visitor crashed through two stores.
A deer broke through the rear glass door of Pegasus Fine Gifts, 117 S. State St., shortly before 2 p.m., running through the store as customers looked on.
"Talk about a bull in a china shop," said owner Katie Andrios.
"There were customers and, once our manager (Penny Nanni) saw what was happening, she grabbed all of our customers and took them into the office and shut the door."
Meanwhile, the deer made a tour of the store's Christmas section, ran behind the cash register, the coffee bar, and into and alongside the store's front window. The front window did not break.
A man standing outside opened the front door and the deer jumped out onto the sidewalk.
"We have a million pieces of china and dishes and fragile things," Ms. Andrios said. "Only 20 things were actually broken besides the rear door."
Unfortunately, glass is not part of a deer's environment. The next stop was across the street and through the front glass door at Duricks' LLC, 102 S. State St., a cellphone store.
"I had customers standing at the counter," said store owner Mick Durick. "I was working on a customer's cellphone checking on the coverage, and all of a sudden, we had eye-to-eye contact (with the deer).
"We just stood there. He just headed for the back door, leaned against it and was out. It did set a record for the fastest entry and exit from the store. He was in a hurry."
Geneseo public works director Klint Rice said he wasn't sure where the deer ended up. He traced the deer's blood outside the back door of Duricks' and across the city parking lot toward the east side of Oakwood Avenue.
"I dispatched two guys from public works who washed off the public sidewalks so it wasn't so apparent," Mr. Rice said. "It's very unusual. You don't see something like that.
"It got into one store, walked out because the door swung the right way and to do it again (walk into another store). It had to have been spooked."
Ms. Andrios said she heard the deer had died, but neither Mr. Rice nor Geneseo Police Chief Tom Piotrowski could confirm that.
Both stores were open Wednesday, albeit needing new doors.
"We'll have a wood door until Friday," Mr. Duricks said.
