WILLIAMSBURG— Escapology, an escape room franchise, is coming to New Town in Williamsburg by former Yorktown local Emily Foushee.
Foushee is 24 years old and has had a love for escape rooms since she was 15. She worked for a mom and pop shop prior to COVID, before the pandemic unfortunately forced it closed for a while. When it reopened, they decided to make the business family only, and so she was out of a job.
She ended up finding work with a different franchisee with Escapology. She worked there for two years and fell in love with the brand. It was for this reason that she decided to take a leap of faith and open her own location.
When Foushee was young, she and her family lived in Yorktown and grew up there until her father retired from the military. After that, her family moved to North Carolina.
“When I started this project, it was find a place that you think of, and you would work, and I chose Williamsburg, because it’s a beautiful area, and a very high tourist spot, so [Escapology] was pretty pleased with my selection,” Foushee explained about why she chose the location.
According to the website, Escapology was founded in 2014 by brothers Simon Davison and Paul Davison, who opened the first Escapology in Orlando, Florida. By 2020, the company had 50 locations across the U.S. and by 2022 started having international locations.
Some highlights that Foushee says that guests can look forward to are movie-like sets and immersion, and premium games. There is a licensed game that’ll be offered at this location that is Scooby-Doo themed. She adds that it’s one of her favourites. There are other games as well, but so far, it is the only licensed IP game for now.
“[I’m excited] to open this up for everyone and become a part of the community,” Foushee said. “I love escape rooms, so I’m looking forward to introducing myself to some of the mom and pop shops in Williamsburg. My husband and I have played at Room Escape, absolutely loved it there, looking forward to playing the rest of their games, as well as some of the other games in the area.”
The new Escapology location has not officially announced an opening date yet. For more information, visit the official website.
