Middletown escape room pitched

The operator of a proposed escape room entertainment facility will bring plans to the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission this week.

Tad Huey, of Entertainment Express LLC and Puzzle Theory Middletown DBA, is seeking a special exception and site plan approval to build a new escape room in the lower level of a building at 909 Newfield St.

The building has more than 9,300 square feet of medical and professional space, with 45 parking spaces.

Huey would need the special exception because that area is not zoned for entertainment. 
The venue would have three rooms, each with a unique theme in which groups from two to 10 people use clues to solve puzzles to escape. Each room takes about an hour, and most visits would be in the evening and weekend hours, the applicant said. 

The escape room would occupy 2,300 square feet on the lower level, would not serve any food or drinks, could accommodate up to 30 people at a time and operate by appointment from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, and until 11 p.m. on weekends.

The commission will host a public hearing on the application at its next meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. in council chambers of city hall. In December, the board approved plans for another escape room facility on Main Street.