San Angelo Escape Room to Close After 8 Years; Owner Seeks Buyer

SAN ANGELO, TX — Think in a Box, the escape room business at 123 East Concho, will close after its final day of operations Sunday, May 24, owner Lisa Lewis announced. 

Lewis told San Angelo LIVE! the decision follows more than eight and a half years of operation and what she described as a “perfect storm” of challenges: the loss of several core employees, the deployment of her technician who handled the electronic systems.

In a phone interview, Lewis said three longtime employees recently left for personal reasons — graduations, one joining the military and one moving home. Training new staff is time-intensive because the business has seven rooms and requires roughly 10 hours of training per room. 

Despite the difficulties, Lewis described the business as profitable for its entire run and highlighted its strong reputation. She said Think in a Box has 1,500 to 1,600 five-star Google reviews and that she could name fewer than 10 negative incidents over its history. 

Lewis said the community has meant a great deal to her. 

“I’ve had fantastic interactions with customers,” she said. “We have got to see the most incredibly positive side of people, and so I want to go out on a high note.”

She is actively seeking a buyer or someone to take over the business and is “open to all kinds of creative arrangements.” Lewis offered to transfer assets, booking software, website, organic following, props and room concepts, and said she would be thrilled to see a local buyer — ideally a younger person in San Angelo with electronics knowledge — continue operating the escape rooms.

“I’d love to see the business survive in some form, or at least the escape room and the concept,” she said. “We’re doing a good thing. We see a very positive side of people. And I hate to let that die."

"I've had parents look at me and say, 'That's the most fun I've had with my teenager in two years,'" she added. 

Lewis encouraged customers to book one last room at ThinkinaBoxTX.com and for longtime “BoxStars” to come say goodbye. 

"This community has meant the world to me," she stated. "Getting to watch you puzzle, laugh, panic, and celebrate together has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I will miss being 'the Think in a Box lady' more than I can say." 

If no buyer steps forward, the business will hold a garage sale the last weekend of May. 

She can be reached at [email protected] or 325-650-1755.