Small Business Saturday! Escape Room Arlington's Favorites
Thanksgiving is coming up! As these winter holidays approach, we’re all ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, don’t forget about Small Business Saturday! We’re proudly locally owned and operated, and we’re proud to be the best escape room in the DC area. We’d be thrilled if you shopped small and supported us for your next birthday party idea, company holiday party, or teambuilding activity. However, we’re not the only locally operated business in Arlington, or even on Columbia Pike! For this week’s blog post, we’d like to share with you some of our favorite local businesses that we love supporting, and we’d love for you to support them on this year’s Small Business Saturday too!
Before we get started, you might be asking yourself, what is this Small Business Saturday all about? Since 2010, small businesses across America have celebrated Small Business Saturday on the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This movement celebrates shopping local businesses across the country, supporting locally owned and operated businesses that contribute culturally to their communities. It is estimated that American consumers spent a combined $19.8 billion on locally-owned and operated establishments on Small Business Saturday in 2020 alone.
As an aside - If you’re looking for a delicious meal before or after your escape room, we’ve gone into great detail about some of our favorite locally-owned food spots in this blog post. From William Jeffrey’s Tavern’s delicious pub food to Tortas y Tacos’ amazing, well, tortas and tacos, you can find all the best spots right here. We do have some restaurants on this list but we tried to focus on other businesses. If you’re looking for your next Christmas present idea or a fun place to take your visiting family and friends this holiday season, read on!
Dan’s Picks:
Labyrinth Games & Puzzles in DC is a charming, local one-stop shop for all of your gaming needs!
This is a locally owned and operated store for all things fun! Comic books, board games, puzzles, you name it, it’s there. This spot has a very inclusive Magic: the Gathering scene, the largest selection of board games in the DC area, and my most recent purchase here was my copy of the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign that I’m still getting plenty of mileage out of. If you like escape rooms, you’ll love what this store has for sale.
If you like escape rooms, you’ll probably enjoy what this place has to offer. It’s burgers, beer, coffee, and board games all under one roof, all at the same time. They offer a large selection of board games that you can stay and play to go along with their large drink and coffee selections, and of course they sell board games and coffee to take home. Speaking of Coffee,
For those of you on the Maryland side of the DMV who love coffee or are looking for gifts for coffee-lovers, this is the place. Vigilante is my favorite local coffee roaster, and they do it all in-house in their Hyattsville location. They have a few locations around the DC area and supply their fair-trade, locally roasted beans to a few more. If you’re shopping online, they have free delivery on orders over $25. This is the one to shop at.
On the VA side of the DMV, you have to stop by Classic Bakery in Tyson’s. For staff birthday celebrations, we get our cakes from here. Every single cake has been amazing. Every time I pick up a cake I grab a gata and some fresh coffee. If this were anywhere near my house, I’d probably grab half a gata and a coffee for breakfast at least three times a week.
Ellie’s Picks:
Upcycle Creative Reuse Alexandria
This is a one stop shop for all your crafting needs: and everything they sell is donated so you are recycling while crafting. They have everything a crafter would want and offer a discount for teachers looking to stock their classrooms!
Stitch Sew Shop on King Street is a great spot for sewing materials and supplies, and offers classes too!
Stitch Sew Shop is an independent fabric shop in Alexandria VA, and they are stocked with everything a garment sewist could desire. They have everything in one place- patterns, fabric, notions, and more! The staff is incredibly knowledgeable if you have sewing questions or concerns. They also offer sewing classes and large format pdf pattern printing.
Lillian’s Picks:
If you’re in the Seven Corners area, you have to stop by Tiffany’s - it’s been a favorite of ours for years. You can stop in and grab cakes or pastries that are fresh, amazing, and honestly cheaper than they should be. I always grab a slice of tiramisu but Lillian swears by the chocolate mouse. They of course make cakes for birthdays, events, and the like.
Neetu’s Picks:
Family owned and operated, Paradise Ice-Cream has been serving great desserts to the DC area for 22 years. Their ice cream is good, the cakes are good, you just can’t go wrong here. You do need to call ahead or order ahead online.
Jordan’s Picks:
In the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse building there’s many amazing restaurants, but Bangkok 54 also has a grocer market! If you’re looking for an Asian grocery store, definitely check this place out. Notably, they’re our #1 spot for boba tea close to the escape room.
Caitlin’s Picks:
This little Turkish spot is unassumingly tucked in a corner between us and the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse building. While they don’t have dine-in, they do have gyros, kebabs, kafta, baklava, and anything else you might want from a Turkish place, all with fast service and great prices. This is often our Friday evening shift’s take-out.
Katherine’s Picks:
If you’re looking for a good Chinese food nearby, this is the best one. They’ve got great pork steamed dumplings and fried rice; everything here is delicious. It is take-out only.
This place has tasty burritos at a really good price - the burritos are huge, there’s a lot of customization, and their sauces are good. I literally ate here on my wedding day! They have outdoor benches, but there’s no dine-in option here.
And there you have it! If you’re looking for a locally-owned business to support when buying your family and friends gifts this holiday season, please check these out! And if you’re looking for a fun Christmas party idea or your next night out with friends, consider staying local and supporting the best escape room in Arlington!