It has been roughly four weeks since Aberdeen locals were introduced to ShapeShifters, a unique venue serving up escape room experiences and cocktails in the city centre.
Located on Windmill Brae, the business was launched by husband and wife Gilan and Hollie Kelly, who invested more than £500,000 into bringing ShapeShifters to life.
And since Friday, September 29 (the venue’s official opening date) the couple and their team of highly-skilled mixologists have welcomed upwards of 1,500 customers through its doors.
During opening weekend alone, roughly 600 people stopped by to check it out for themselves.
ShapeShifters: All you need to know about the Aberdeen venue — which is spread across 6,500ft
Friday, September 29 (the venue’s official opening date) is open from 9.30am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday, and 9.30am to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are 12 cocktails — six with alcohol and six with no/low alcohol — up for grabs, all featuring sustainable and premium ingredients.
The Harvest Moon, High Wire Act, Happy Landings and Moment of Clarity are among the options.
Moment of Clarity features a silky smooth rum punch infused with Mars Bar, and is served on the rocks with a hint of spice and tea.
Hollie said: “[During] opening weekend we welcomed over 600 people through the door.
“In our first two weeks, we had already uncovered some [menu] favourites — the Happy Landings and Moment of Clarity.
“At the time, we had sold over 400 Happy Landings and 250 of our Moment of Clarity.”
As for the 6,500ft venue’s escape rooms, there are four in total.
One of the games, The Resurrectionist, is for two-to-six players. It requires you to step back in time to discover the secrets of 19th-century Aberdonian anatomist, Dr Andrew Moir.
‘The response has been tremendous’, says co-founder
Hollie said: “The response to the combined activity offering of cocktails and escape rooms has been tremendous but we’d still like to see many more locals come in for a casual cocktail and visit to the cocktail bar.”
Keen to introduce small plates and brunch dishes to the mix as well, Gilan and Hollie have launched food at ShapeShifters in the past two weeks.
Brunch is available from 11am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays, while small plates can be enjoyed from 4pm to 10pm Thursday to Sunday (from today).
If you’re stopping by for brunch, expect huevos rancheros, avocado and eggs on toast, loaded pancakes, miso aubergine, mushrooms on toast, French toast and falafel.
Frickles, barbecue asparagus, Padron peppers, pan con tomate, spiced hummus and pitta, shredded beef, and chicken tacos feature on the small plates list.
“At the moment we’ve had over 1,500 different individuals visit this month with a large number of enquiries and advance bookings for team building events spanning as far as spring next year,” added Hollie.
For bookings and more information, call 07387 476132 or email bookings@shapeshiftersuk.com.
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