My Biz: Finding the fun in escaping

CEDAR RAPIDS — Breaking out is breaking out across Iowa and, Alan Shakespeare thinks, beyond.

“We actually just broke ground in Des Moines, so that’s store No. 3,” Shakespeare said one recent morning. “I’m also in a different ownership group looking at doing one in Kansas City. That’ll be my fourth store.”

Shakespeare owns Iowa’s two Escapology franchises, in Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids, where customers locked in a series of rooms decipher clues and codes to make their escape. His co-owners are Derek Hamil and Dan Olsen, with Shakespeare being the most “hands-on.”

The rooms are equipped with interactive media and devices tailored to each room’s script, from an Old West shootout to assisting beloved cartoon canine Scooby Doo and his pals.

“Typically, they’ve got an hour,” Shakespeare said. “They’ll come and solve some riddles and puzzles. Our games have a little more technology, more than just locks and keys. After you get through the first room, most of the time you’ll progress into the second room and there’s usually a third room to most of our games.”

Chasing a dream

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Shakespeare, 41, opened his Cedar Falls franchise in 2018, four years after Escapology opened its first location in Orlando, Fla. The company now has nearly 200 locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and even Dubai.

But Cedar Falls was something of a risk.

“That is one of the smallest stores nationwide,” Shakespeare said. “Typically, the franchises want to be in Miami, New York, Chicago, places like that. We were able to make it work really well in a relatively small town. Our aspirations were to grow and expand.”

Which led Shakespeare to open Cedar Rapids Escapology on New Year’s Eve 2022, despite several competing escape rooms.

“Probably more than the market should be able to sustain,” Shakespeare recalled. “We saw a couple of escape rooms exit the market due to the derecho, lack of quality management, and COVID, I think. That brought the competition down, and it made more sense for us to come into this market. It’s been on our radar, but last year it just made sense.”

The location next door the redeveloping Westdale Mall was familiar to Shakespeare, who attended elementary school in Hiawatha before his family moved to Shellsburg.

“Westdale Mall was pretty much where I tried to grow up,” he said. “Cedar Rapids was where we came for all of our entertainment.”

After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa, where he met his wife, Jamie, Shakespeare worked as a commercial banker. The couple and their three children now live in New Hartford, in Butler County northwest of Waterloo, where Shakespeare also coaches track and cross country for middle and high school runners.

“I spent 10 years helping other people fulfill their dreams,” he said. “I thought ‘I want to do this,’ but we have to be passionate about something. My wife and I developed a passion for escape rooms, and it just kind of clicked. I stopped tracking once we hit 100, but I’m guessing we’ve done about 170 escape rooms.”

How it works

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Shakespeare employs eight people in Cedar Rapids. Game hosts welcome guests and escort them to the escape adventure they’ve booked. Game masters follow their progress on video monitors, dispensing further clues and the occasional nudge.

“We run software that we check off after they’ve finished a puzzle,” he said. “If they need more help, we can radio in and say ‘This is what’s going on.’”

New games are introduced about every two years, although popular ones like Scooby Doo and Batman enjoy longer runs.

Shakespeare said he’s found Escapology is popular with families and couples and for workplace outings.

Pricing is demand-based. The Scooby Doo escape room for two adults and two children on a Saturday is $136, while a couple on a Friday-night date can solve the theft of the Mona Lisa for $76. Snacks, soda, and beer are available.

Having established a customer base, Shakespeare is focusing on expanding the Cedar Rapids market.

“There’s definitely room for growth,” he said. “It’s just getting people in the front door because the people that do come in are repeat customers. The struggle for us is just getting people in the door because, once they come here, the place sells itself, and the people have a ton of fun.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.

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