Karaoke has been a concern for many during these exceptional times. Is singing karaoke safe at all? What measures have restaurants found to ensure the safety of both customers and their own staff? We gave Karaoke Restaurant Kuparikulma a call and spoke with restaurant manager Sami Liukkonen on the matter. Sami was in the midst of opening the restaurant at the time of the call: "Ask away, I can chat for a bit in between work!"
At Kuparikulma, the karaoke section was opened right from the beginning when restaurants were allowed to open their doors starting from June 1, 2020. It's clear that people are quite concerned about this topic. 'Especially in the first few weeks, customers were calling and inquiring in advance about our practices, and many also came in person to ask about safety matters,' Liukkonen explains in an understanding tone.
The impact of COVID is somewhat evident in our customer base. 'There's a lot of uncertainty about it. Not all regulars have been back yet, but of course, people have vacations and other things going on. In addition, we've seen a lot of new faces who have come to us for karaoke. There aren't many other karaoke places open in the nearby area yet.
Various Niksi-Pirkka-style solutions have been encountered when it comes to ensuring the hygiene of microphones. Liukkonen mentions that at Kuparikulma, they have found a good and effective solution for this. At least in Kuparikulma, Populus, and Anna K, they are currently using microphone disinfection devices that operate with UV light. The device was found on the German Thomann online store.
UVS S01 - Microphone disinfection device
”The microphone is placed inside the machine for five minutes, during which it undergoes disinfection. On busier nights, it might feel like five minutes is too long. On average, karaoke songs don't quite last that full five minutes, so if one microphone is in use and the other is in the machine for disinfection, there may be a bit of waiting in between.”
On the busiest nights at Kuparikulma, in addition to the machine, they also use Karita wipes. These wipes are placed around the microphone with a rubber band, and the handle is wiped with disinfectant. After each singer, the wipe is thrown away. 'This has worked quite well for us,' Liukkonen explains.
There are other methods as well. The restaurant has also ordered disposable microphone covers from China, but their arrival is still awaited. "Production there has only now properly started due to COVID, so we haven't received the microphone covers here just yet."
Almost everywhere, you can see hand sanitizer bottles available for customers, but at Kuparikulma, there's something additional for customers. "We also have a couple of packs of disposable gloves on the counter for customers to use if they want to put them on before singing." In addition to this, of course, the well-known guidelines are in effect for everyone—frequent handwashing, staying home if feeling even a bit unwell. If you must cough, do it into your elbow. I'm sure everyone knows these instructions even in their sleep, and that's a good thing.
"If there's a message to convey to customers, I would like to encourage people to sing. At least in our chain's locations, hygiene is taken very seriously, and we want people to feel at ease when they come to sing. Safety is important to us, and we care about our customers. We want singers to come and spend their evening with us worry-free," Liukkonen explains.
Restaurant manager Sami Liukkonen of Kuparikulma encourages people to sing karaoke.
Kuparikulma is part of the Karaoke Bars chain and is located in Pohjois-Haaga, Helsinki. This cozy suburban restaurant features a terrace, disco, and a karaoke section with Finland's most extensive karaoke selection. It's easily accessible from afar, as the train station is only 50m away.