GARDEN GROVE : Midnight Limit Put on Karaoke Studio

The City Council has imposed a limit on how late into the night aspiring singers can carry on at a karaoke studio.

Yeon Sook Seo had requested permission to stay open until 2 a.m. at a studio that she wants to develop in a commercial building at 9738 Garden Grove Blvd.

A karaoke studio operates until 2 a.m. in neighboring Stanton, and she needs to stay open that late to remain competitive, she said.

But the council, citing reports of gang loitering and narcotics at other karaoke studios in Southern California, voted to set a midnight closing time. However, officials said they’ll evaluate their decision in six months.

Manuel E. Nunes, who represented Seo when she took her request to the council last week, said that karaoke studios traditionally stay open late to give business people who toil long hours a chance to relax and unwind.

“There is no evidence that it brings negative influences,” Nunes told officials.

Nunes said that no alcohol will be sold or brought into the building, nor will there be pool games. The building is not near homes, and there is no opposition from residents, he said.

Nunes said Seo is uncertain whether to proceed with plans because of the midnight closing time.

The proposed studio would have 13 individual rooms. Patrons would rent the rooms by the hour or half-hour to sing into a microphone accompanied by a video monitor that displays words to the songs.

The curfew pertains exclusively to karaoke studios and doesn’t apply to karaoke singing in restaurants and bars. Karaoke normally stops at the closing time of the establishments, which can be as late as 2 a.m., officials said.

Only one karaoke studio is currently operating in the city, and it has an 11 p.m. closing time.