A former Greek restaurant in the heart of Nottingham's trendy Lace Market is to get a new lease of life - as an escape room .
The basement of Gothic House, in Barker Gate, will be named Escape Stations and the first room is expected to be ready for customers by the middle of next month.
The project is the dream of Thomas Armstrong, of Stapleford, and he has described his new business as being "immersive".
The room that will be ready for the official launch will challenge players to discover a secret hidden inside Mount Olympus. Five more rooms could follow in the coming months.
Mr Armstrong, 37, whose wife Lizzie is supporting in puzzle designs, said: "We are focusing on the theming.
"You are not going to find a combination padlock in Ancient Greece. We are trying to focus on it being immersive so you feel like you are in Greece, not in an escape room.
"The idea behind the puzzles is they are not linear, so rather than solve a puzzle and get a key, a lot of the puzzles can be done in any order – there will always be something for someone to do."
Mr Armstrong said plans are still being devised for other rooms, with one "scary" offering expected to be created. The plans are yet to be fully revealed but it has been confirmed one will be set in a jungle.
When it is fully operational, it is expected the new facility could create up to 15 jobs.
A change of use planning application for the 2,453 sq ft site in Barker Gate was submitted to Nottingham City Council in the summer and was approved in August.
The deal to let the building was completed by property group NG Chartered Surveyors.
Mr Armstrong said: "The property ticked a lot of escape room venue boxes. It's a basement with limited windows, in city centre location, has a large amount of open floor space and lots of hidden spaces and nooks and crannies."
Sunny Landa, of NG, added: "This deal shows perfectly how existing commercial stock is still being repurposed instead of just being converted to residential like seemingly everything else in Nottingham city centre right now.
"Escape rooms are becoming really popular and we wish Tom all the best with his new venture, which we're sure will be a huge success and a valuable addition to the thriving lifestyle scene in the Lace Market."
