The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Escape rooms soon to open
Entertainment establishments coming to Mentor, Willoughby
Never heard of escape rooms? That may be because none have opened nearby — but that’s about to change.
At least three escape rooms are in the works in Lake County, including two in Mentor and one near the Mentor-Willoughby border.
These recreational venues offer fun in the form of themed rooms that are “locked,” and participants have an hour to figure their way out using clues and objects in the room.
“Escape rooms have been popular for years, particularly in Canada,” said Glenn Gable, chief executive officer of Roll House Entertainment, which owns Game of Mentor at 7300 Palisades Parkway. “We have been expanding our entertainment offerings to complement all of our bowling centers.”
The rooms are going into a 3,000-square-foot vacancy left by Bart’s Place Restaurant in 2009.
“We finally found something to fill it,” Gable said, adding that new bathrooms were part of the project.
Game of Mentor is using a franchise called Escapeology, “known for creative rooms, their in-depth training and great support,” Gable said. Themes include the Cuban Missile Crisis and The Antidote, among others.
“We will be changing a theme about every four months to keep it fresh,” he said.
The cost is $20 to $26, depending when the room is booked and how many are playing.
Gable anticipates opening within the first two weeks of October.
Right on its heels is Escape Room Cleveland, for which owners are seeking a conditional-use permit from Mentor Planning Commission on Sept. 7. The permit is required to operate the recreational facility at 7468 Tyler Blvd., a light manufacturing district.
Applicant Jamil Elder, a partner in the familyowned business, proposes using 5,418 square feet of the 21,420-square-foot multitenant building, just east of Route 306. Escape Room Cleveland also has locations in Strongsville and North Olmsted. Average weekly customer counts are between 200 and 250 players.
Up to 10 full- and parttime employees will be on staff.
Six escape rooms are planned. Themes at other Escape Room Cleveland’s sites include Wild, Wild West; Mad Scientist; Indiana Jones; Hangover 20 and Double Agent.
The doors are “locked”
by 12-volt industrial magnets attached to an exit/ panic button on both sides of the door. The customers have the option of using this button to step out of the room during a game. Cost is $27 per person per hour, but group specials and discounts are available, Elder said.
“We don’t really worry about other escape room businesses,” he said. “We build our rooms to challenge humans in reality and always look to improve our bottom line.”
He said customers constantly ask for a Lake County location.
“Mentor has a lot of amenities, such as the mall, and all the surrounding restaurants and bars,” he said. “Our business helps other businesses thrive, but those businesses greatly benefit us. Customers tend to plan a whole evening around a visit to the escape room.”
The goal is to open by December.
Meanwhile, Trapped Escape Room of Cleveland is preparing its first room to open by mid-October in Willoughby, at 38721 Mentor Ave. A second is targeted for December, said Location Manager Stephanie Martin. Eventually, there will be four rooms, she said.
“I don’t think there’s been a saturation far east in the suburbs yet,” Martin said, noting that customers from Lake and Geauga counties visit Trapped’s Cleveland Heights location.
“We have gotten more calls about the Willoughby location than anything,” she said. “People are really excited.”
The first documented escape room opened in 2007 in Kyoto, Japan, with a heavy proliferation occurring late last year, according to roomescapeartist.com. An estimated 1,500 escape rooms existed around the globe as of January, with new businesses opening daily, the website says.