Courtesy of Hidden Media Network Public Relations
Audio By Carbonatix
Waiters have a tough job.
They have to spend the majority of their time on their feet. A large portion of that time includes lugging around heavy trays of food that sometimes get sent back for being wrong or not done to perfection.
They also have to put up with people like you who want their burgers cooked with a certain amount of pinkness in the middle or demand the right amount of ice in your drink, which better not be the diet one someone else ordered at your table.
And sometimes, it’s the waitstaff that’s rude, as anyone in New York knows.
A lot of restaurants use the “rude waiter” trope as a hook: There’s Dick’s Last Resort in downtown Dallas, which treats every customer with total disdain. Chicago is home to the ’50s diner Ed Debevic’s, where people named “Biscuits” and “Cherry” groan and whine with every order, and the legendary Weiner Circle, where the staff literally shout obscenities at the drunk, late-night diners.
Karen’s Diner, however, takes it to a level that can actually be considered abuse before it starts to stray into legal assault. The name says it all. Now, the Karen’s Diner franchise, with locations on four continents, is taking its rude waitstaff to places that don’t have a franchise yet. Yes, that includes Dallas. On Jan 13-14, 2024, you, too, can have an appointment-only experience at Solo Burger and Wings on Hillcrest Avenue, according to the ticket website.
Guests can reserve a spot for their two-hour ordeal by buying a ticket that comes with a burger, side of fries, a drink and a whole lot of attitude. Additional food and drink can be purchased during your visit. The menu will also have vegetarian and vegan options that will make you the target of ridicule.
A “Karen,” for those of you who don’t know, refers to a certain type of person who is indignant, mean and spiteful even though none of the people they are berating have done any emotional or physical harm to them. Now imagine an entire restaurant run by Karens, or at least intentional, self-aware ones.
The Karen’s Diner concept is a global, viral phenomenon that prides itself on offering “great food, terrible service,” according to its tagline. The place looks like a picturesque ’50s diner straight out of some kind of retro Barbie play set, except all of the waitress are rude to the core. They plop the menus down in front of you like you’re the only thing standing between them and their smoke break. They hurl insults and choice curse words, even if they aren’t waiting on you. It’s not a place for customers who are actual Karens.
The Karen’s Diner concept is the creation of an Australian entertainment experience company called Viral Ventures, co-founded by Aden Levin and James Farrell. According to a 2021 profile published in the Australian business publication The Hotel Conversation, the duo opened the first Karen’s Diner in Sydney’s Wonderland Bar as a way to poke fun at the global Karen uprising, and word of mouth helped build the basis for a global franchise that now has more than 20 locations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Asia and New Zealand.
It’s nice to know that Karens aren’t indigenous only to the U.S. The whole world has to put up them.
