Karaoke Forums

Some of you have mentioned that you've done (or do) shows in a Coffe house. When I met up with Eric last week (while I was vacationing in Florida), we briefly discussed this.

To me, when I hear the term Coffee House, the first thing that pops into my mind is Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Now, being from NY, I have never seen a Karaoke Show in one of those places. I can't see one of those places paying a KJ $200 for a 4 hour show there. I just don't see them making enough money from their limited product line to justify the expense of hiring a KJ there. And, on the other side of the coin, if a KJ arranges to work in one of those places for TIPS or a service charge to sing ($1 or $2 per turn and/or per person), I can't see him/her making much either (since most of us in NY City are unaware of a TIPping etiquette for Karaoke, and most of us would be unwilling to pay to sing when there are so many places out there that don't charge).

Without turning this thread into another one of those arguements about freeloaders, please describe/explain to me what kind of place a Coffee House is where you host (or have attended) a regular show. How does it work out?

Cueball,

As with many other "facts of life", it maybe that a coffee house is whatever the owner defines it to be.

As a teenager growing up on Long Island (drinking age eighteen), there were coffee houses near the local college campuses, as there were in Greenwich Village and elsewhere in the metropolitan area.

They had folk and blues musicians and liquor licenses, usually. One of the favorite items on the menu was Irish Coffee!

The first place I was going to do karaoke job at was called Java D'lites. It closed down the week I was going to start. It had been running karaoke two nights a week and one of those nights was its most profitable night of all.

It reopened with different owners and here is what they offer in addition to coffee:

Tea
Bottled soft drinks and water
Desserts
Green Salads
Panini bread sandwiches
Soup
Salad platters such as chicken, tuna and egg
Wine
Beer
Fruit platters
Cheese and crackers trays
Bagels

These are all simple things to prepare and do not require much of a kitchen. I would call it all "light fare", except for the desserts (if you know what I mean). So... even for those who aren't very hungry there's something anyone can find to nibble on.
Yes, it can work economically with karaoke and anyone who wants to make a purchase can do so WITHOUT imbibing alcohol!

PS: There was a donut shop in Hollywood that until recently offered karaoke. The people I know who had been to that show were very complimentary of if. The show was there for years, but it recently was terminated. I don't know how much the KJ got paid, or when the show took place. If someone told me the guy did it for $100 I wouldn't be surprised!

I doubt any chain type coffee house will get karaoke. I don't think Starbucks is franchised, so they aren't allowed too much independence. On the other hand, I was surprised that the Denny's in Renton had karaoke for awhile.

There are some coffee shops around where I am that fit ericlater's description. None have karaoke that I'm aware of, but some have poetry reading, open mic, or jazz nights.

My first gig was Dennys in Lakewood for almost a year. Someone actually gave me the show because they thought it was going to tank. It started out Wed only, by the time I left it was Wed-Sat with raise in pay. New management stepped in & decided karaoke wasn't working even though we were packing the place & the bartenders told the rings were almost triple what they used to be. Luckily it was about the same time I got my current club anyway. The new manager there did not last very long BTW, turns out he was a musician (struggling) & absolutely HATED karaoke!

I have never seen a coffee house karaoke last, have seen some live acts - single to trio live music, usually a light blues or jazz. Great concept (karaoke), but not a money maker. 1 place by my house does family karaoke in their place but they also own the system so not paying out anything & they do now have a liquor license for beer & wine - not illegal when kids are around & serve food as well.

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My suspicion is that any establishment with limited seating and no "regular" crowd of its own would find it worthwhile to try karaoke. Karaoke just might attract enough singers and those accompanying them to make the "night" profitable from its initiation, and if others learn of the show and like the venue they may begin to frequent the establishment during karaoke and at other times. Unfortunately, this rarely works.

And please note that there are shows going on in other types of venues with limited seating: small restaurants, a "blues club", bars accommodating no more than 50 people, an ice cream shop, donut shop (both in Hollywood),

Meanwhile, in S. Florida, only a very few shows regularly pack 'em in and most of those successful shows rely upon the venues existing clientele! It is rare when any particular night of karaoke is successful solely because of those who follow the karaoke show.

I was with one of my old regulars last night at my partner's jobs. He was someone who frequented the "donut shop" show in Hollywood that I have alluded to several times. He corrected me in that it was NOT a donut shop but a Wings place.

Just got back from a newer "Coffee House". My wife was looking to go downtown this evening for some entertainment when she came upon a listing in our local paper for Karaoke @ Fresh Aroma Coffee Bar and More.

So, we ended up going there. Unknown to us, the place and the karaoke have been around for eight months even though it's not far from where my wife's shop is.

The fellow who is doing the show is the first person to have done Karaoke at Java D'lites (see above post). While the crowd wasn't large, we were informed by people who we knew there that the crowd is usually larger than it was tonight.

Indoor seating 35. Outdoor seating, 12 (which is of no value to show when it is too hot to keep the front door open). If local ordinances would permit, they should pipe music to the outside, IMHO.

Economics: Minimum per table was $10 a person, though they said they weren't steadfast in that regard. They had a special menu with higher prices for the evening of karaoke. Having ordered two bowls of soup, 2 beers, 2 sodas, we were pretty close to the twenty dollars.

Menu included everything Java D'lite has PLUS:

Smoothies
Ice Cream
Belgium Waffles
Veggie Burger
BLT
Humus
Pizza on Pita bread = Pitza

EDIT: The show runs from 8pm-11pm