EYE ON BUSINESS: Escape from the ordinary in Bradenton

Four years ago, Kristine and Scott Vaillancourt were looking for something fun to do with their two sons, Kyle and Alex, and decided to give an escape room a try.

The family visited an escape room and started sorting through a series of clues that eventually led to their release. The Vaillancourts were not impressed with their first experience, but they still liked it.

“We liked the concept,” Kristine Vaillancourt said. “We tried another and another and another.”

To say they were hooked trying to find a great escape room was an understatement. Eventually, they started thinking about doing it better themselves.

On May 24, their quest to offer a better escape room became a reality.

The Panther Ridge residents opened Premier Escape Adventures, at 7369 52nd Place E., Bradenton. Their escape room and virtual reality arcade is located in the Creekwood Crossing Shopping Center, at the northwest corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 70. The plaza is home to businesses such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, Starbucks and Big Lots.

As owners of Plaza Maintenance Plus, a commercial and residential property repairs and maintenance company, they built the interior of their

storefront themselves.

Within the business, the Vaillancourts have built two escape rooms — “Houdini’s Book of Secrets” and “Date Night Disaster” — and two more original ones will be coming, hopefully by the end of summer, Kristine Vaillancourt said.

Those who visit learn the room’s storyline and then begin searching the room to find clues and puzzles that lead to the story’s ending, which allows the captives to escape. 

In “Houdini’s Book of Secrets,” players try to find the “book of secrets” left by famed magician Harry Houdini, so they can become the world’s next great magician. 

Clues can come in many forms. For example, guests might find a key to unlock a dresser drawer. Clues inside the drawer lead to yet another clue. The clues continue until the puzzle is solved.Guests have one hour to solve the riddles inside.

“The biggest thing is teamwork, communication,” Kristine Vaillancourt said. “Everybody looks at things differently.”

Each escape room can accommodate between two and eight players. Depending on a party’s size, the session might be a pairing with another group. Guests can book an escape room to have a private experience with no outside players. 

The business also offers virtual reality gaming. There are four virtual reality screens that can be rented in 30-minute intervals for up to two hours, and there are more than 70 games from which to choose. Offerings include everything from a rhythm-style game called “Best Saber” or a bow-and-arrow game called “Alvin’s Assassin” to Scott Vaillancourt’s favorite, a boxing game called “Creed: Rise to Glory.”

“There’s even golfing,” Kristine Vaillancourt said. “There’s something for everybody.”

Guests can even play gamers at other virtual reality arcades or people playing from their homes.

Kristine Vaillancourt said both virtual reality and escape rooms make great fun for parties, corporate team trainings or other private events. Catering options also are available.

“There’s not a lot of stuff for families to do except go to a movie,” Kristine Vaillancourt said. “There’s not even a bowling alley out east here.”