East Palestine man brings his passion to new Village Escapes experience
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EAST PALESTINE -- Nate Foster and Ashley Khoeler owners of Village Escapes in East Palestine, turned a favorite pastime into a venture.
Village Escapes offers two experiences. The room can be booked through Facebook. Online bookings also avoid lines, an advantage when adhering to social distancing.
Foster decided to use his experience directing the Haunted Trail at the local park and combine it with Khoeler's smarts to develop their own escape room.
Village Escapes has two different rooms: Jurassic Problems and Ancient Relic.
Ancient Relic is a family event; however, Foster warns the Ancient Relic room involved darkness and flashlights. Foster said the older crowd will recognize a few things though.
"Remember the Legends of the Hidden Temple, back in the day. That's the mind set of what the Ancient Relic is, Its Mayan legends of the hidden temple-ish. There might be a few things there that might look familiar if you love that show," Foster said.
Jurassic Problems is adapted to younger audiences. Khoeler developed a back story that Foster narrates through a vintage radio with Wi-Fi.
"I wanted to do more of a kid friendly, family friendly and just make it a half hour little event so we came up with a Jurassic Problems,"
Foster gets in touch with his younger self when it comes to the dinosaur portion of the room.
Foster created a business that has been able to adapt and remain a relevant source of entertainment throughout the pandemic.
Instead of an experience he could only put on once a year for four Saturdays, Foster is able to keep the room, change experiences and thoroughly clean after each guest interaction.
Foster said the home itself is historical.
A photo hangs in the hallway of the building known as "The Book House" from its existence dating back to 1880. The building was home to a wine tasting room, a billiard hall and a butcher.
Foster enjoys emphasizing the detail and decor to make Village Escapes feel adventurous.
Village Escapes refers many of its guests to the area restaurants like The Original Roadhouse, Dogs on the Run and Sprinkles.
Foster said he believes that bringing people into town with an escape room is essential to building tourism in East Palestine.
"I wanted to try something new and different," said Foster