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This Pop-Up Diner Headed to Atlanta Promises to Unleash the ‘Karen’ on You

We didn’t ask for it, but rude-as-hell pop-up Karen’s Diner doesn’t care and will prove it in October

Waitresses in pink costumes give the middle finger. Hidden Media Network Public Relations
Beth McKibben is the editor and staff reporter for Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and cocktails locally and regionally for 12 years.

We didn’t ask for it, Atlanta, but pop-up Karen’s Diner doesn’t care and will prove it in October serving up burgers, fries, a soda, games, and rude servers slinging “karma” at customers for $47 per person. It appears that price doesn’t include tip, which you may not want to leave anyway given the service you know you’re willingly paying for, and tickets are non-refundable.

The pop-up diner experience takes place in an undisclosed location on Peachtree Center Avenue in downtown Atlanta between October 14 and October 15. Children under 16 are allowed until 5 p.m., then it becomes adults only.

In case you aren’t familiar with the slang term “Karen”, it typically refers to a “middle-aged woman . . . who makes solutions to others’ problems an inconvenience to her although she isn’t remotely affected,” according to Urban Dictionary. Karen’s Diner seems to profit off of this entitled white woman energy in what has become a popular pop-up in the UK, Australia, and now the United States.

While Karen’s Diner does promise rude servers dishing out snappy clap backs at customers throughout the meal, the website states at no time will employees body shame, sexually harass, or reply with racist, sexist, or otherwise overtly offensive retorts.

Viral Ventures and owners Aden Levin and James Farrell, however, have landed in hot water over some employees taking the rude gimmick too far with more abusive behavior. Last summer, a staff member of Karen’s Diner in Brisbane, Australia, asked a 14-year-old girl if she was there filming for porn site OnlyFans and called her father a “pedo”[phile]. She was making a Facebook Live video of her dining experience. Recently, an OnlyFans star was dining at a Karen’s Diner and was outed by a server to her young daughter who was unaware of her mother’s career. The employee apparently proceeded to then announce it to the entire restaurant.

Maybe, instead, skip this overpriced nonsense and spend that $47 supporting one of the many local pop-up restaurants on the Atlanta dining scene right now. Eater features a frequently updated and exhaustive list of local chefs and cooks serving wildly creative food or sharing their culinary heritages via dishes from a range of countries.

Hidden Media Network Public Relations
Hidden Media Network Public Relations