I’m gutted Karen’s Diner is closing down – my 8-year-old loved it and, yes, they swore at him but I don’t care
IT’S the controversial diner where waitresses swear at you and put you down before serving your food.
But one mum who visited Karen’s Diner with her three kids has insisted the news that the eatery is closing down is a massive blow.
TerriAnn took her eight-year-old, her 11-year-old and her 18-year-old to the restaurant in Sheffield after multiple requests from her brood.
She took to TikTok to share a video of the experience, writing over the top: “The kids wanted to go to Karen’s Diner and this is how it went…”
The clip began with a female waitress telling her eight-year-old: “Shut up, you’re the reason I’ve only got a dog, I can’t stand kids”.
When he hit back that she was “a dog”, the waitress then responded: “Woof, woof, little s**tbag”.
A male waiter then came over, and when TerriAnn asked for something he shouted “What?” before exclaiming: “I’m a bit busy here, needy b**ch”.
Later in the video, he called the young girl a “needy b**ch”, before the little boy took aim at the waitress as he said: “That’s you!”, pointing at his picture.
Unperturbed, the waitress picked up the picture and ripped it up before scrunching it up, as she shouted: “It’s s**t, just like your face!”
But the experience did come with some delicious looking food too, as TerriAnn showed the burger, chicken wings and sweet potato fries they’d ordered.
She concluded the video by showing pictures of her son wearing a hat with “I still s**t myself” written on the front.
He once again appeared entirely unconcerned about it, grinning as he posed for snaps alongside his grumpy waitress.
“The kids begged me to take them too!” TerriAnn captioned the video.
People in the comments section were quick to weigh in, with one writing: “Is this really a place for kids tho?”
“They’re too young to really get the humour and it’s giving them ideas instead!” another said.
“Maybe if they were a bit older but no this is not the place,” a third commented.
But speaking to Fabulous Online, TerriAnn explained: “When you visit Karen’s Diner, the staff actually ask for your permission before using any strong language, so as a parent, you have control over that aspect.
“We live in a world where swearing is quite common, and if you’re a parent who occasionally uses colorful language, you likely won’t be too bothered by your kids hearing it in a controlled setting.”
What is Karen's Diner & why is it closing down?
Karen’s Diner, where staff are intentionally rude to customers, went viral in 2022 after a video surfaced of a waiter calling a customer a paedophile in front of his 14-year-old daughter.
It has continued to gain traction on TikTok since then, with some calling its controversial approach “fun”, but others claiming they were “body-shamed”.
Celebs from Kerry Katona to Davina McCall have visited the restaurant, where staff hurl insults like “don’t come back” and hand women hats saying “I spent my child support on ‘girls night out’.”
The brand has been plagued with controversy for a while, with people not taking kindly to staff members’ insults.
In response to a TikTok video in which an eight-year-old girl was hit with explicit insults, one user wrote: “Disgusting, joke or no joke that’s not funny.”
Another added: “She’s 8!!!! That’s not banter at that age. Words hurt. Why would any parent let their child be humiliated in that way!”
It was announced earlier this month that the restaurant has gone bust, after reportedly racking up more than £400,000 worth of debt.
While she added that she “wouldn’t want my children exposed to that kind of environment regularly”, she insisted they “understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate language”.
It was announced at the weekend that Karen’s Diner had gone buest after reportedly racking up more than £400,000 worth of debt.
Liquidators Jeremy Frost and Patrick Wadsted confirmed the chain has 77 staff members who will be laid off.
They added it also has 2,500 clients who have paid for events that are “now very unlikely to take place”.
This includes a summer pop up tour, originally scheduled to take place between June and September across the country.
But TerriAnn reckons the lack of interest in Karen’s Diner is down to the cost of living crisis rather than the concept.
“The concept is really good and I definitely would go back because the food was even nice,” she said.
“It wasn’t just just a gimmick with crap food.”