Originally from Quebec, Jérôme Bergeron moved to Luxembourg five years ago. After working as an IT developer for several companies, he decided for a dramatic career shift, and now runs Caribou Lounge & Karaoke in Luxembourg City.
What motivated him to take the plunge? A redundancy notice he received upon his return to work after taking parental leave.
“I’d been wanting to set up my own business for a while anyway. I asked myself what Luxembourg was missing that would make me stand out from the crowd. It turned out that karaoke was the place to be,” the 31-year-old told Virgule.
And so it all began in January 2025. “I’d already seen this in other countries, and I thought that this was what we needed to bring to Luxembourg.” But his vision to open by spring was quickly quashed.
Red tape and market research
“I was very surprised by the amount of red tape involved in opening a business. It was a bit depressing,” said Bergeron. His enthusiasm didn’t wane, however, and he announced in March that he would be taking over the former site of Alinéa bookshop.
“I had already created my website. My mailbox exploded,” he said. “A lot of companies and then party organisers contacted me to find out how to book, what the rates were. It was crazy.”
It allowed the entrepreneur to test what people were prepared to pay, while confirming that he had identified his core target. “I had two market studies carried out: one in France, the other in Canada. This revealed that 80% of the audience for this type of venue is female.”
Over 50,000 titles on offer
Open since the end of September, the venue offers a bar area, where anyone is free to come and have a drink and sing along.
“Singing in this part of the venue costs nothing, but sometimes you have to wait a while to get your turn. And you can choose from over 50,000 songs. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people or simply to get together with other music-loving friends,” said Bergeron.
The private karaoke rooms are upstairs. The Hollywood Suite and Speakeasy rooms are currently ready with two more to be added soon.
“They can each accommodate up to eight people. All you have to do is book. The more people, the cheaper the hire. I was absolutely determined to make it accessible to as many people as possible. And above all, to offer a venue for last-minute events in the centre of the capital,” said Bergeron.
And it’s not all about the singing. The young entrepreneur hopes that his bar will unite a small community where everyone has their place, a place where the expression of art is welcome on the walls and where people from different background can come together.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like,” said Bergeron.
(This article was first published in Virgule. Translated using AI, edited by Cordula Schnuer.)
