April 8, 2020

Several businesses forced by COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to suspend typical offerings are coming up with alternative ways to help entertain cooped-up families.

Wine & Canvas owner Sarah Callahan realized in mid-March when customers began canceling painting sessions that the business needed to find another way to reach people.

Callahan created “curbside art projects,” mostly for kids, but adults are doing them too, she said. They’re “curbside” because customers pick them up outside the shop.

“Basically, since normally we teach everything step by step, we’re doing the harder steps in advance,” she said.

An artist on staff creates an outline on the canvas – everything from race cars and dragons to unicorns and “llamacorns” – and the kit comes with paints and brushes.

“We’re trying to keep up with demand and trying to do two a week. … We’ve been selling out of kids’ ones just about every time we have them.”

With the studio closed, Color Me Mine also has created to-go kits for all ages. Customers can pick any piece of pottery by calling the store or looking online, and the kit comes with paint brushes if needed, five paint colors that they get to choose and instructions. They pick up the kit on a table outside the store and drop off the piece when they’re done to have it glazed and fired.

“People are really appreciative of it,” owner Karen Masloski said. “It’s given them something to do. Some people are doing it with home schooling as their art projects.”

She’s thankful for her loyal customers and said new people are finding the business too.

“It’s going OK. It’s as best as you can do,” Masloski said. “I miss my painters.”

She has resorted to bringing her dog to work to keep her company: “His only payment is treats.”

Social distancing guidelines definitely put an end to having even small groups gather in small spaces for escape rooms, but Escape 605 in Sioux Falls and Conquer Escape Rooms found new ways to reach customers.

Escape 605 has 20 crates filled with instructions, props, puzzles and hints that customers can rent to play. The business took “Grandpa Ope” crates it created for classrooms to use and switched up the storyline and added more puzzles. It also designed another challenge called the “Great Jewel Heist” that’s a little more challenging, said Alysia Simunek, general manager and director of sales and marketing.

Customers can reserve the crates, pick them up between 4 and 6 p.m. and return them the following day between 1 and 3 p.m. Delivery is available in Sioux Falls and Harrisburg for a small fee, Simunek said.

Having the game overnight gives families plenty of time to play the game, she said. They can solve the puzzle together or set up a timed challenge among family members.

“Once they are returned, we go through and we tear them all apart and sanitize everything and them put them together for the next person.”

More themes are in the works, she said.

Conquer Escape Rooms came up with its “Internal Threat” within 72 hours of announcing the physical space would be temporarily closing, owner Jonathon Rolph said.

The spy-themed game includes a box with puzzles and an integrated app that serves as a digital game master. Because of the app, families can invite relatives in other areas to play along with them. One recent customer played with her niece and nephew in Las Vegas, Rolph said.

The game has been extremely popular, Rolph said, noting that there are only two boxes and he started with daylong rentals and scaled that back to four hours so that more people could play. “I might have to go to two hours next,” he said.

Rolph offers no-contact delivery and set up a cleaning process to thoroughly sanitize each piece between customers.

Watch a trailer for the game here. 

Scavenger hunts are becoming a popular tool to draw attention to a business.

Sunny’s Pizzeria has hidden 25 wooden tokens around the city in public places and each morning posts a photo clue. The tokens are good for a free medium pizza, owner Jonathan Oppold said.

“We wanted to find a safe, fun and creative way to get people out and into nature – in a responsible, socially distant way. Thus, in lieu of a traditional Easter egg hunt, we decided to create the first annual Sunny’s pizza hunt.”

The first three tokens were found each day by early afternoon, but “some are going to take awhile,” Oppold said.

He opened his neighborhood pizzeria in December between the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana University campuses and said business in the past month has been unpredictable, swinging from his worst weeks ever to some that were more normal.

“Takeout was such a big part of our business anyway that we can maybe keep going” without having to close temporarily, he said.

Another scavenger hunt will use Book Your Billboard’s digital billboards.

From noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, families can drive around town and look for billboard ads with bunny ears. The secret clues from each one will be needed to solve the puzzle and win a free ice cream cone from one of the drive-thrus from Fourteen Foods Dairy Queens in Sioux Falls. The first 500 people to submit their entry also will win a $10 gift card to participating restaurants.

“We understand this is a difficult time for many local restaurants in Sioux Falls, so we wanted to do our part to help bring business to those still operating in a limited capacity and encourage business in the future for those that may have closed amid the pandemic,” co-owner Zach Neugebauer said. “With the amazing technology on our digital billboards, we felt a scavenger hunt would be a fun way for Sioux Falls to get out in a safe, engaging way while supporting some of the best in our community.”

To learn more about the hunt and download the map of billboard locations, visit bookyourbillboard.com.

Boredom packages with games and puzzles are coming to Kidtopia Toy Stores, said owner Sheryl Nelson, who has been busy putting together Easter baskets first.

“Actually, we’ve been getting in a lot of products lately,” she said. “All sorts of shipments have been coming. … We have lots of fun stuff.”

That includes puzzles, which have resurged in popularity, especially since the weather isn’t consistently nice yet. Both Kidtopia stores have new Ravensburger puzzles on the shelves this week.

The stores at The Bridges at 57th and Dawley Farm Village are open daily with reduced hours.

“We do offer curbside pickup,” Nelson said. “You can call the store or send a message on Facebook and we can send photos.”

One downtown business has created an enticement for kids to do their homework.

Candy Cloud Factory’s “E-Learning Survival Packs” include two standard containers filled with cotton candy and one rainbow container. Free delivery and shipping are available and curbside pickup is available from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Harrisburg businesses that share the 518 Marketplace are working together on a weekly online learning project for kids.

“Facebook Love From the Marketplace” at 2 p.m. Thursdays will feature cooking, baking and crafting lessons.

Emer-GenZ Eats & Treats will post a grocery list of items needed for its lesson. For the first week, Sassy Cakes & Coffee created a cupcake decorating kit, and BluMoon Designs put together crafting kits. The kits can be purchased through the drive-thru at the marketplace.

Both Sassy Cakes and BluMoon Designs have other kits that customers can purchase.

“We were all watching Facebook chatter — and jokes! — about bored kids, listening to our family and friends with kids home-schooling woes, and we were just brainstorming about how to keep our customers engaged during this time,” said Pam Harris, owner of Emer-GenZ and the founder of the marketplace.

“This is what we came up with. If it goes good, it may become something more permanent.”