Even in the Zoom meetings, it’s helpful to have a place to go and do your work. Mind you, today’s employees want more than a cubicle, a desk and a red stapler. They want an environment they can thrive in. It’s why some companies invest lots of money in designing welcoming, energetic spaces for their workforce. 

A good office space can help you build more than a book of business, it can create a sense of community and camaraderie. It can lead to more creativity, and yes employees that are fitter, happier and more productive. 

So let’s say you’ve figured out the business building part. You’ve got employees. But do you have a team? One way to figure that out is to lock them in a room and see if they can get out. 

No, it’s not a dungeon. It’s Escape Room Lafayette, managed by Katie LeBlanc. Katie got her start at Escape Room as an employee. And she got the gig thinking she was applying to work at a haunted house. She worked as a hostess — greeting guests, walking them through the rules. She became general manager seven years ago, after the original owner died and the business changed hands. Today it's owned by Kelle and Dan Messer, who run escape rooms around the country. 

What hooked Katie on Escape Room wasn't the puzzles. It was watching complete strangers put their phones down and start talking to each other. 

Escape Room Lafayette has grown from four rooms to eight, with space for a ninth, and about 550 guests a week come through the Johnston Street facility. In-house game designer Jason Falcon has taken the games from padlocks and combination locks to hidden mechanisms, electronics, and something closer to a movie set. 

And the fastest growing part of the business? It’s businesses looking for team-building exercises and corporate retreats. 

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Gravy in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.