Our tour of Clue IQ began walking through each escape room and talking about each of its themes. The rooms I visited were Excalibar, Conspiracy, and Blitzkrieg. I was surprised by the level of detail Steven and his team accomplished to make each room a reality. Not only was I immersed into the room by visuals, lighting, and props, the rooms even had a distinctive smell to match the theme!
Once Steven and I finished the tour, we sat down and began with our interview. Since the summer of 2017, Clue IQ has been entertaining groups of all ages with a new type of challenging entertainment with the simple goal of having fun. The demand is clearly there. Frederick has the capacity to house not just one, but three escape rooms in and around Downtown making it a hotspot for group activities.
Steven knew he wanted to open an escape room, but the question was where. Steven, like many of us, grew up in Frederick and knew he wanted to stay local. With a majority of the buildings in Downtown being historic, residents and business owners alike can agree that going through the Historic Planning Commission for renovation can be quite a task. For Steven, not only did he take advantage of the large space and proximity to Downtown, he was able to design and build the rooms from the ground up as he pleased.
A benefit of being located on S. Carroll St. is that Steven can work with other businesses around him. Up until a few years ago, S. Carroll St. was generally empty, aside from the Social Services building that used to be home on the corner of E. All Saints and S. Carroll St. and then the antique shop, Cannon Hill Place. Steven’s vision is to continue seeing collaboration with the surrounding businesses to bring more people into the area. WIth more foot traffic, there are hopes of more retail based business finding home here along with customer focused activities. Since CycleFit moved out of the first floor of the parking garage on E. All Saints about a year ago, there is speculation that an African American Heritage Museum is moving in sometime in the near future.
Steven is not only proud of the quality of his work, but how far Clue IQ has gotten in just a few years, and being a part of Downtown business community. We were excited to talk to another one of our East Frederick businesses and get to learn more about ClueIQ!
Learn more about Clue IQ and plan your next visit on their website.