WILMINGTON — The N. Front Street corridor in downtown will be cued up for people yearning to exercise their vocal cords as a new karaoke bar prepares to open this summer.
K-Town will be located at 275 N. Front St., near The Underfront. Its unassuming entrance leads into a basement area, which becomes the ground floor facing the parking deck at River Place condos along Water Street. A back entrance will be wheelchair accessible and patio seating is also planned once opened.
“We’re hoping it will be ready the last of July, but I think it will mostly likely be the first two weeks of August,” Kyra Faina said, one-third of the team behind K-Town.
Restaurateur and bar owner Justin Smith and local actor Bradley Barefoot are also partners in the venture.
K-Town’s main bar area will seat roughly 50 guests with a stage built in one corner for the karaoke DJs. There also will be four individual rooms people can rent and enjoy their own personalized experiences. Three will host up to a dozen people, with a larger room available to fit 20 or so for bachelorette, birthday, anniversary or other parties.
iPads will outfit each room for users to access the 59,000 songs available through the app KaraFun, but they can also download it on their phones.
“It allows them to even change the key of the song, if they want,” Barefoot said.
Entry is always free to the bar overall, but prices for the individual rooms start at $20 an hour minimum and this is for two people; an additional $5 an hour is tacked on per each added person.
Faina has been patronizing karaoke bars in larger cities for years and upon moving from New York to Wilmington more than a decade ago always wanted to open one, but said the timing never felt right. Once she took Smith and his wife, Bekah, to Bangkok Lounge in Charleston a few years ago for the first time, they, too, were on board.
“It’s just so much fun because everyone is going there to sing and let go a little,” Faina said. “Some people go to therapy, I think singing is like therapy.”
It’s not abnormal to see lines snaked around the Bangkok Lounge building and karaoke DJs are often tipped to bump up performers toward the top of the list on busy nights.
“Last time I was there, I gave the DJ $40 to be fourth in line, so I could get in and out,” Faina said. “We can only hope to be that popular.”
Karaoke runs in Faina’s blood; in childhood she would help her uncle schlepp equipment and bins of CDs to and from gigs. They would do street fairs and community events, but when her uncle died in the late ‘90s, she said her father inherited all of his gear. He would set up for karaoke nights in a barn on their farm.
“But I was always so shy to sing,” Faina said, explaining she would take the microphone but go outside the barn so no one could see her.
K-Town will be outfitted with multiple TVs showcasing lyrics throughout the main bar area. So if people are timid about taking the stage and having a spotlight on them, they can perform from their barstool or booth.
However, there is no guarantee they can avoid the spotlight if they order one of K-Town’s 10 “experiential shots.” And, no, that doesn’t mean serving tequila in someone’s belly button. The shots will be themed, such as “Star Wars,” “The Golden Girls,” “Wicked” or “Top Gun.”
“Each will have an associated musical sting,” Barefoot said.
So for example, with the “Top Gun” shot, once the glasses go down, the shots are poured and there is a break in karaoke, Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” will play. Two spotlights shine on the people ordering the drinks.
“And the bartender will tell the two drinkers: ‘Alright, folks, put your goggles on and prepare for takeoff.’ They will take out flashlights and act like they’re preparing the runway before announcing, ‘Clear, take your shot!’” Barefoot explained.
For “The Golden Girls,” it will require four people to represent Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia, and they’ll be given wigs, glasses and canes, and “Thank You for Being a Friend” will play.
The bartenders and cocktail waitresses will also take on karaoke DJ duties at times and sing between serving wine, beer and cocktails.
“And even if they don’t sing, they’ll somehow be a part of the performance and help put on a show,” Barefoot said.
“This is my way of having the best of both worlds and not even having to step away from work to have a good time,” Faina said, adding she is looking forward to being part of performances on days she isn’t managing Prost.
Faina is Smith’s partner at the downtown German biergarten — and was part owner of YoSake before they sold it last year. She said they were ready to move on opening a karaoke bar in 2019 but Covid-19 stalled plans. They were considering the former Calico Room space earlier in the year, however, the location fell through.
Yet, Faina said the N. Front Street location feels right, more in line with the vibe they’re going for: 1970’s New York, with deep maroons, golds and brass, classic black-and-white-checkered floors, Tiffany lamp pendants hanging throughout the space, and even a standalone phone booth tucked away in the main bar.
Barefoot — who worked on local productions for Opera House Theater Company with Smith, the former artistic director, for years and continues as assistant artistic director — just moved back from New York.
“Bradley is a talented multi-tasker who has a skill set that complements Kyra and I well,” Smith said. “Plus, he’s an amazing singer.”
Barefoot said he and his roommates often visited Koreatown karaoke bars in New York aplenty. He would find himself belting out Billy Joel songs and other tunes in the individual rooms.
“But our rooms will have A/C,” he said of K-Town, noting it’s not abnormal for karaoke bars in larger cities to not offer the amenity.
“‘New York State of Mind’ will probably be the first song I do here,” he added, while Faina is toying with “Vogue” by Madonna or “Insensitive” by Jann Arden.
“This concept here, the Korean-style rent-a-room has always been needed here,” she said.
Karaoke is a social norm and one of the most popular activities in Korea, known as a way to de-stress for all ages, who rent rooms after school or on weekends.
Faina said she imagines their proximity to so many hotels on the north end of downtown also could help with corporate team-building opportunities for those visiting for conventions.
K-Town’s individual rooms will be soundproofed, have a disco ball in each room and will be adorned with Supergraphic striped designs — often seen in skating rinks and bowling alleys 40 years ago — and exposed brick. Plus, each room will have sliding doors much like a subway train.
Outside the rooms, subway tiles will transform the drywall being erected now in a space that was “once a dirt floor only,” according to Barefoot.
“For a building this old, we’re really getting to make it our own space, so that’s amazing,” he said. “This will give the vibe you’re walking onto a subway platform.”
Crews began construction two months ago, building stairs to descend from Front Street. A mural of a downtown Wilmington map imagining subway stops will welcome guests. Once below, tiles will spell out “Front Street” and perhaps “Electric Avenue,” denoting a passenger’s arrival at various metro stations.
Graffiti will also be adorned throughout the space and song lyrics also will be hidden in the decor.
A caboose will be built onto a wall near the stage in the main area. In front of the caboose will be the four individual karaoke rooms. Terry Collins — a set designer in town for local plays — is constructing the caboose, with Faina and her sister doing the tilework.
K-town will also host themed nights, including Drag Karaoke, Hair Metal or ‘90s Diva, for example. It will be open seven days a week, likely at 5 p.m. on weekdays and closing at 1 a.m. On weekends, they plan to open after brunch and be available for children’s parties as well.
“We want to be the homebase for karaoke,” Barefoot said.
“Yeah, take your singing-in-the-shower moment, take your singing-in-the car moment and bring it here,” Faina said. “I don’t care if you sing badly, just don’t sing a Creed song.”
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