Despite opening just last September, a local “escape room” business is already making plans to expand to a second location due to booming popularity.

My Escape Room, a business that locks patrons in mysterious rooms and challenges them to find a way out, will open a second location at 2044 S. Stoughton Rd. March 1 to keep up with overwhelming demand, Rebekah Mast, My Escape Room manager, said.

“We couldn’t keep up with all the customers who were calling,” Mast said. “We felt terrible. The weekends were getting booked so fast, we had to tell people we couldn’t get them in for months. We decided we needed to do something so that everybody would get to experience this.”

Mast said escape rooms have been popular internationally for some time, but they have only recently started to gain popularity in Madison. She said the game is an adrenaline rush, where customers are “locked” in a themed room and must use clues to escape. The game usually lasts between 45 minutes to an hour.

Mast said they went “all out” on the new location and got “really, really creative.” The new location will have more themed rooms and a private party lounge on the upper level.

Mast said the company appeals to a wide range of audiences because people are drawn to the adrenaline rush they receive from immersing themselves in a fantasy scenario. She said most people enjoy the excitement that comes with escaping from their personal realities and problem solving with their groups.

“We get everyone,” Mast said. “Eight-year-olds all the way up to 80-year-olds. Anybody and everybody — college students, retired people, people in all sorts of careers. People love it.”