The Br8k Room: Break Away

Ask Nik and Amanda to explain The Br8k Room, and eventually they’ll tell you the same thing they tell just about everyone else:

“You just have to experience it.”

The Br8k Room is a family entertainment center built around experiences that are a little harder to find elsewhere in the region — free-roam virtual reality, VR laser tag and escape rooms, retro gaming and, of course, the namesake break room, where guests can suit up, grab a tool and smash away. The idea behind the business actually started hundreds of miles from Michigan City.

While vacationing in Colorado, Nik and Amanda decided to try a roadside rage room after seeing the concept online. They weren’t necessarily angry or looking to blow off steam. They simply thought it looked fun — and it was.

“We had so much fun,” Amanda recalled. “We were like, this is something that we wanted to bring back home to our community.”

They also quickly realized they wanted to build something bigger than a room filled with breakable objects.

“We realized we didn’t really want like 12 rooms of just breaking stuff,” Amanda said. “We wanted to bring more to the community, something that the kids could enjoy just as much.”

That search introduced them to free-roam virtual reality — an experience where players aren’t planted in front of a screen or confined to one spot. They physically move through large spaces while the world inside their headset moves with them.

After trying out countless systems themselves, the concept for The Br8k Room began taking shape.

 

Something Different to Do

From the beginning, the goal was to create a place that could serve more than one kind of customer.

Families could come together. Couples could turn it into a date night. Groups of friends could try something new. And, importantly to Nik and Amanda, younger people in Michigan City could have another place to spend their time.

“I would say our business is for the whole community,” Amanda said. “Specifically the younger people, like high schoolers, middle schoolers. I feel that it’s important to give them things outside of the movies or hanging out somewhere.”

Inside, that philosophy translates into several different experiences.

The actual break room gives guests a protected space to smash items using everything from baseball bats to sledgehammers, complete with safety equipment, personalized music and a wall guests can sign after their session to join The Br8k Room family. There’s even an option to receive a highlight reel of your session from their security camera footage.

Elsewhere, retro gaming stations offer thousands of games, while multiple VR spaces are designed for different ages and experiences. In the largest free-roam environments, players can physically duck, dodge, explore and work together as they navigate virtual worlds.

Sometimes, Nik and Amanda have to remind first-time players that the “free-roam” part is literal.

“You gotta move,” they tell them. “You’ve got all of this space!”

That ability to watch someone experience VR for the first time has become one of their favorite parts of the business.

One group of women in their 60s arrived having never tried VR before. Soon, they were moving around the room, ducking, dodging and laughing together.

“It can’t help but make you smile,” Nik said. “Watching people who think they’ve done it all, have a new kind of fun, it still lights up our eyes.”

Another customer first visited with his son, then returned days later with his brother — excitedly reenacting everything they had experienced during his first visit.

“I think I had more fun than my son had,” he told Nik.

Those moments, Nik and Amanda say, mean more than the transaction itself.

Dealing with Reality

Opening the doors, however, took considerably more than finding the right games.

Nik and Amanda came into the project without generations of entrepreneurs behind them. The couple met at UPS, where Nik had spent more than 20 years, before the two decided they wanted to build something they could call their own.

They found a building close to home and Michigan City High School that had enough room to accommodate what they envisioned. The former drugstore and later fitness facility offered the space — but getting it ready became its own journey.

They began the process in late 2025 expecting to open quickly.

Instead, heating problems, roof leaks, and construction delays pushed the opening back. The delays added months to the process while rent, utilities and other expenses continued.

And there wasn’t a larger company standing behind them.

“It’s just her and I,” Nik said. “This is what we do.”

“We knew that if we kept putting one foot in front of the other, we would persevere.”

Eventually, the doors opened in June of 2026.

 

Giving a Break

For Nik and Amanda, creating a sustainable business is only part of what they hope The Br8k Room eventually becomes.

They envision using its success to support a nonprofit focused largely on helping younger people entering adulthood who may find themselves without the financial resources or support systems they need.

That could mean assistance when an unexpected expense hits, help finding emergency housing or simply having somewhere to turn when family support isn’t available.

They also hope to build a network of local businesses and community sponsors willing to invest in younger people in another way — by giving local children and teens who may not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to experience The Br8k Room at no cost to their families.

Their goal is eventually to offer a sponsored experience each month, giving young people a chance to have fun, try something new and gain exposure to technology like virtual reality along the way.

For now, it’s a long-term vision. Nik and Amanda are focused first on building a sustainable business and stronger relationships throughout Michigan City. They’ve already reached out to schools, businesses and community organizations in hopes of developing partnerships that can introduce more people to The Br8k Room while laying the groundwork for what they hope to accomplish later.

It’s a vision rooted in something much more personal.

Shortly before opening, as Nik and Amanda were finishing work in the back of the building, their oldest daughter stopped them.

“Mom, do you understand what you’re doing?” she asked. “Do you see this place that you guys have built?”

Then she pointed out something neither had fully stopped to consider: no one in their family had done anything quite like this before.

For Nik and Amanda, that moment put the months of setbacks, construction and uncertainty into perspective.

“The legacy part that we hope to leave behind is for our children to see that hard work, perseverance, and standing on faith — it will pay off,” Nik said.

Today, what started with a vacation and an afternoon spent breaking things has become one of Michigan City’s most intriguing concepts.

And for anyone still driving past wondering exactly what goes on inside, Nik and Amanda have a simple answer.

“Everyone’s always asking, what’s The Br8k Room? Or what’s VR? What’s free-roam VR?” Nik said.

“It’s one of those things that you just have to walk through the door and experience.”

 

 

Disclaimer: Businesses featured through the “It’s A City Thing” initiative are featured at the discretion of the City of Michigan City for storytelling, tourism, and community engagement purposes. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee by the City of Michigan City, its officials, employees, or affiliates. No business paid, compensated, or otherwise provided consideration in exchange for participation or inclusion in this feature.