Karen’s Diner Might Not Be Coming to S’pore After All

By
Jadee Ng
-

Last Updated on 2023-06-01 , 12:46 pm

Thank goodness, because who knows how a face-off between an actual Karen from Singapore and one of the service staff would look like.

Okay okay, we know some of you were really looking forward to patronising the infamous Karen’s Diner, so this news must be a bit of a bummer.

If you’re unaware of what Karen’s Diner even is, it’s essentially a food establishment with servers that embody the true spirit of what it means to be a “I-want-to-see-the-manager” type customer who is demanding, rude, and impatient.

This cultural persona has been circulating the internet for years, and finally made its way into a business concept through Karen’s Diner, where customers are able to be judged hard-core by the actor-servers, and be criticised for the things they do or say while dining. All this is done in good fun, of course.

The diner currently has 12 outlets in Australia and the United Kingdom, boasting American-style menu items including burgers that are aptly named “Karen’s Got Real Beef”, “I Want To See The Manager Karen”, among others.

The Excitement May Be Premature

Previously, talks of a Karen’s Diner pop-up coming to Singapore started making rounds on the internet after people realised that its website had supposedly listed cities that it would be expanding to, from cities like Adelaide to York.

Among the 86 cities listed, two Asian cities were on the list—Singapore and Hong Kong.  However, after clicking into the various locations, the page you land on will simply state “A pop-up dining experience is opening its doors this winter”.

The exact location for the pop-up was not provided, and only an end date of May 2023 was given, not its start date.

Moreover, the virtual marketplace for experiences, Hidden, also contains an event seemingly for this alleged pop-up. But upon closer inspection, the event details also seem off. For one, it’s listed to occur in the period of “Sat, Jun 25, 2022 15:30 PM – Wed, May 31, 2023 22:30 PM” which is:

  1. Arguably too long a duration for a pop-up; and
  2. Implies that it would’ve been opened by now

Responding to a query made by The Straits Times on how true the reports were, a spokesperson from the restaurant chain said, “Not yet but keep an eye on bemorekaren.com where we announce where we are going to next.”

Now, the company’s website shows 15 upcoming locations for the diner including places like New York, Pittsburg, and Auckland, with Singapore not being in the mix.

So I guess we’ll just have to be extra rude to each other when we makan for now, because we won’t be experiencing our desired dose of hostility at a Karen’s Diner here just yet.

How The Diner Got Famous

Well a F&B place with a concept this wild is bound to gain traction on the internet. Shortly after it launched, users from all over documented their experience of visiting the diner, highlighting the rude but highly amusing service they were paying to get.

Some common themes of waiter behaviours in the videos include:

  • Swearing without a care
  • Food being tossed to you
  • Eye rolls for days
  • A general “You’ve got to be kidding me” attitude
@terriann_123

#foryoupage #fyp #karensdiner #karen #rude

♬ original sound – TerriAnn 123

One user even tried to see what kind of treatment she’d get if she attempted to arrive at the diner earlier than her reservation time.

@vivifean

@karensdinerofficial Sorry, I was just too excited for the dinner 😅 #karen #karensgoingwild #karensoftiktok #karensdiner #karensdinerau #sydney #sydneyeats #sydneyfoodie #karenpov #fyp #foryourpage

♬ original sound – SYDNEY FOODIE

Maybe someday.

Read More: 

Image: Instagram (@karensdinerofficial) + TikTok (@jamiezhu)

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Jadee Ng
Email: [email protected]