Glenwood Springs used book store, escape room continue to see steady business
Sheri Scruby is anything but short on supply these days.
“A couple of times I came in the morning and the whole patio was just filled with boxes of books,” the used book store owner said. “It is kind of cool, but it can be overwhelming.”
As people continue to hunker down amid a COVID-19 winter, Book Grove has seen steady foot traffic and sales because of it. The Catcher in the Rye, Catch-22, popular science-fiction novel Dune — Scruby said people around the Roaring Fork Valley continue to buy classic pieces of literature on a fairly regular basis.
“I think people have been hungry for books, since everything unfolded and happened,” she said. “I think that everybody has gotten a little bit tired of their Netflix shows and all the electronic things you can do when you’re confined.”
Among the city’s popular bars, restaurants and other businesses trying their best to financially recuperate from periodic closures due to teetering COVID-19 regulations, Book Grove is somewhat of an anomaly.
The business, which opened its doors in 2004, continues to see sales amid COVID-19 because of, among other things, tourists. Because when you’re on vacation, what better way to relax than by reading a book?
“I can’t tell you how many people come to my shop and they live in Denver,” Scruby said. “Do you know how many bookstores are in Denver? But I think when people are on vacation, they have time to look at books. And I think people enjoy the experience of browsing and seeing what finds them.”
For the future amid COVID-19, Scruby said she’s “not going anywhere.”
“I’ve read enough history to know that someday (COVID-19) will be history and it’s not going to be like this forever, because nothing ever is forever,” she said. “It will evolve and shift and change, and we’re going to have solutions and things that will go wrong again.”
“I don’t have any plans to change really anything,” Scruby added. “We’re just going to keep just being positive and staying in the light and doing our best.”
Book Grove is open noon-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
MAKE THE ESCAPE
Among Glenwood Springs’ various unique businesses, the Glenwood Escape Room continues to see people making reservations to have a little fun.
“We’ve able to stay open, keep some staff and pay the bills,” owner Logan Bartek said. “But we were definitely way down compared to normal.”
Bartek said his lifesize puzzle, which just opened back up this past weekend after a little COVID-19 hiatus, currently operates at reduced capacity, with people making private reservations.
“We had a pretty good weekend,” he said. “People were coming out as things opened back up.”
Bartek said groups of 6-8 people are making private reservations to enjoy something that really sticks out as a business. If you haven’t already, perhaps now’s the perfect time to come check out one of the three respective themes at the Glenwood Escape Room — Christmas Chaos, The Serial Doctor and The Elevator.
As to how it works, people are placed in one of these three enclosed areas. Within the given area, participants find clues in order to solve a puzzle and — you guessed it — make their daring and bold escape.
“This is a great activity to get out of the house for now, “Bartek said. “It’s good to get out with family or friends to go do something fun without increasing your risk too much”
For Christmas Chaos, participants must help Santa Claus save Christmas. A little more creepy, The Serial Doctor presents people with clues to figure out before a serial killer comes and commits a heinous act. In the Elevator, participants have to defuse a bomb while stuck in an elevator before it goes ka-boom.
“It is a ton of fun and it is a very unique experience,” Bartek said. “I say most people probably haven’t played one and they don’t really know what they’re all about. We really encourage people to come out, try it for themselves and see what this activity is.
And it’s also a great way to play inside safely while it’s cold out.”
To make reservations, visit http://www.glenwoodescape.com or call 970-945-7529.
The Glenwood Escape Room is provided through the Glenwood Adventure Company.
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