Whitney and Thomas Hughes, who have an Escapology franchise in San Antonio, are bringing one to Wichita near K-96 and Greenwich. It should open next spring.
Courtesy photo
Business is not only booming in the K-96 and Greenwich corridor, but entertainment options in particular continue to grow.
The latest one is Escapology, an escape room franchise with more than 100 locations worldwide.
“It’s a step above what the typical expectation of what an escape room is,” said franchisee Thomas Hughes.
He and his wife, Whitney, who was born in Wichita and still has family here, are San Antonio residents and have one Escapology open there and another in the works.
They’re still finalizing details of their lease, so they’re not pinpointing exactly where it will be.
However, nearby there are already entertainment options such as Topgolf, Dave & Buster’s and, coming next year, the new Ignite at K-96 entertainment complex.
At Escapology, there will be eight to 10 rooms with puzzles to solve.
Whitney Hughes said a lot of groups solve the mystery of how to escape one room “and then they want to go right back in and try another one.”
Even though the idea is to successfully solve puzzles in order to escape, she said participants can walk in and out of each room to use the bathrooms or for any other reason.
“That’s one thing we like to definitely clear up. . . . You’re not locked in or handcuffed or anything like that.”
Thomas Hughes said one of the major benefits Escapology has is specific licensed games such as “Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Castle,” which it has through Warner Bros.
There’s also an Agatha Christie “Murder on the Orient Express” theme.
“It’s a really unique position to have that licensed intellectual property we can use,” he said.
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Escapology also offers beer and wine for sale.
“It’s just an elevated experience that people can come and enjoy,” Whitney Hughes said.
The couple have the Escapology franchise rights for Wichita and eventually will consider whether the west side can support one.
The first one they opened in San Antonio is not in a touristy area, Thomas Hughes said. He said locals like and use it.
There previously was an Escapology within the Alley at 13th and Greenwich, but when Bowlero bought the business, it closed it.
The rooms in San Antonio cost around $40 per experience, which lasts an hour or less.
The Hugheses still are working on pricing for Wichita.
They hope to open by spring break next year.
Look for details about where Escapology is opening in the next couple of months.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansas.com ’
