Karen's Diner on Tour goes bust as Southsea venue and punters left scorned

The world’s rudest restaurant was supposed to be at Southsea Brunch Klub on August 17/18 for a weekend of “roasting Portsmouth” and terrible service but the events - organised by parent company Viral Ventures UK Ltd - did not take place as the firm went bust. 

Today, it has been announced that Frost Group Ltd have been appointed as liquidators for Viral Ventures UK Ltd, the company behind Karen's Diner On Tour and Broadway On Tour.

A spokesperson for Southsea Brunch Klub said they were told by Viral Ventures they would be unable to fulfil the August events after going into liquidation. But customers were left in limbo as Viral Ventures failed to contact them - leaving it up to Southsea Brunch Klub only to tell those who got in touch. 

The venue’s spokesperson said: “Viral Ventures contacted us before the events to say they couldn’t go ahead as they were in liquidation. We had no database of the customers so were unable to contact them but a lot of people got in touch so we told them. They said they had not been contacted by Viral Ventures.

“It was disappointing because we were really looking forward to it after hosting six successful Broadway themed events with the company before. We got no money from the events. No one turned up on the day without knowing it had been cancelled.”

Despite the disappointment, the Southsea venue said it is in talks over holding Broadway themed events from a newly formed company featuring some of the staff from Viral Ventures.

Customers have also been warned they may not get their money back after Viral Ventures’ struggles. “There has been mounting financial pressure, including the presentation of a winding up petition by a creditor,” a spokesperson for the Frost Group said before adding: “Customers who have made bookings with deposits are encouraged to contact their credit card providers, as insurance protections may be in place to assist with refunds.”

Viral Ventures has 77 staff members, with the large majority working on zero-hour contracts. Liquidators said they were aware of over 2,500 clients who have paid for events that are “now very unlikely to take place”. 

Jeremy Frost, director of Frost Group Ltd, said: "It is always a challenging moment when a business, especially one with the reach of Viral Ventures, is forced into liquidation. We understand the disappointment and concern, particularly for those with deposits for upcoming shows. Our priority is to guide those affected through this process and ensure the necessary steps are taken.

"We extend our sympathy to the employees, customers, and creditors at this difficult time. We encourage anyone impacted to visit the website for guidance on the next steps and available resources."

It comes after no-show events from the Karen’s On Tour franchise at Drift Bar in Palmerston Road in April that left customers out of pocket as people queued up before being left disappointed. Trading Standards subsequently looked into matters but only received one complaint and shelved the investigation. Dozens of complaints across the UK were also made by scorned customers last year on review site Trust Pilot.

A Viral Ventures spokesperson said in May of the Drift Bar no-show: “The Karen's on Tour brand operated in 2023 as a franchise and we had to remove the franchisee for a number of reasons, some of which are reflected in the article published by The News. We hope Trading Standards were more successful in bringing him into line than ourselves.

“Clearly many customers who bought tickets for this unstaged event in Portsmouth were not refunded. We share their disappointment as our company (Karens Franchise Ltd), is also owed money.

“We decided to refund all of our franchisee's ticket holders known to us as they see only the brand and not the actual operator. Two months ago we decided to reconstruct the On Tour experience ourselves, and we shall be returning to Portsmouth.”

The spokesperson then added: “Rest assured we will be there as we can't wait to roast the locals. For and on behalf of Karen's Diner Ltd.”

A dedicated website with questions and answers has been established for customers, creditors and staff and and can be found at: https://viralventures.claims