Ninja Karaoke - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Ninja Karaoke in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ninja Karaoke is owned by Steve Corall and Mami.

They are dancers and a married couple who bought the bar in 2017.

With a keen interest in art, they quickly drew the art community to their new space.

This made them successful in 2018 and 2019.

They had open mic nights, karaoke nights, dance battles and other fun creative events that packed their space.

Then the pandemic happened and their business halted.

Now they are losing almost $22,000 a month.

They had to let go of staff and only the two of them ran it together, taking a toll on their marriage and the future of the bar.

They are close to losing the bar and their marriage.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Derrick Turner, who he runs down the ownership of the bar to.

The bar has lots of space and is a unique venue with a main bar, outdoor space and private karaoke booths.

The owners are the only staff as they cannot pay or afford to send Mami to Japan to see her father who has cancer.

Leann and Michael, a couple and Nicole, Jon’s wife are the spies today.

The QR code for the menu is on the tables but not at the bar.

They order drinks and the owners work together to make the drinks and the cocktails are heavy on the alcohol.

They are busy at the bar so some customers in the private karaoke booths are left unserved.

The drinks made are bland and sweet at the same time and the others are too strong.

They do not sell food and offer ramen and chips.

Mami is the one to serve the group in the private room and she runs back and forth working the bar and them.

Jon goes in to meet the owners commending them on the concept which Steve credits to Mami.

They tell Jon how they were doing very well and now they cannot afford employees.

They say they do not do food because they have seen a lot of restaurants lose money through lost inventory.

Jon convinces him there is money to be made and it will be simple enough so they do not have the worries they fear.

Jon promises them he will turn their business around.

The next day, Steve and Mami bring their team back and some new members to help out and join the staff meeting.

Server Justin has been with them since the beginning and is a close long-time friend of Steve.

Bartender Lonnie has also has been with them since the beginning.

Jon introduces his experts including expert chef Anthony Lamas.

When Jon talks about customers having a better experience with food, Steve is still not sold but is willing to give it a go.

Jon shows them the Partender report to see that their free pouring is costing them $200 a night.

Training commences with Derrick testing their pouring and they all have inconsistent pours.

He trains them on fresh signature drinks with Japanese twists.

For the stress test they simulate a post pandemic Friday night rush.

People are let in and they have 30 minutes to serve everyone.

The private karaoke booths are used along with the bar and outdoor area.

The bartenders are working as fast as they can but they cannot keep up.

They are making mistakes and servers running back and forth to their customers in various areas, who are left waiting.

They only served 7 drinks in 10 minutes.

Drinks are still being dumped even with two bartenders.

Halfway through the stress test, only 30% of the customers have been served.

The timer ends and they only served 18 people in 30 minutes selling only 24 drinks and dumping a lot more.

The training continues with more signature drinks developed by Derrick with Japanese twists.

In the kitchen, Anthony reveals some new equipment and trains them on making chicken poppers with Japanese twists.

Jon meets with the owners and points out they are losing on drinks while a food programme can boost income.

The Bar Rescue team spend 36 hours renovating the space and the staff are gathered at night to unveil their spot.

The name isn’t changed but the exterior has more branding that is visible and eye catching.

Inside is warmer and inviting with Ninja artworks on walls.

The outdoor space has a beautiful live stage with lighting and two luminous trees.

The karaoke rooms have been set up to have more character with a Bluezone air purifier and a fan with UV for disinfection.

At the bar there is a Pathspot system for hand scanning for germs.

They have Atmosphere TV for ambience, Compeat for accounting and lifetime subscription to Partender.

They have Onesone table tents for promotion and Future POS systems and a CO2 glass cleaner.

Standard Restaurant Supply gave them a prep table, work table and kitchen supplies, along with a Turbo chef.

Steve is happy with all this and is convinced the food programme will work.

Michael Goddard, a popular artist made them a special painting and signed their wall.

The staff prepare and let people in for the relaunch.

On relaunch, the kitchen is working great making food quickly.

The bar is also doing great sending drinks out and interacting with guests.

The karaoke is also doing great with people using the stage.

The night ends with happy customers singing.

What Happened Next at Ninja Karaoke?

Ninja Karaoke is open.

Reviews after the rescue are mostly positive with praise for the entertainment.

Click for more Bar Rescues

Previous episode - Griff's Bar and Billiards

Next episode - The County Line Lounge and Grille / The Billy bar

This post was last updated in March 2022.