Karaoke, waffles and a good time? This new business has you covered.
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SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: The Singing Waffle
REXBURG – Looking for a good time? How ’bout music and waffles?
WATCH DAVID AND MARY TAYLOR TALK ABOUT THE SINGING WAFFLE ABOVE
That was David Taylor’s idea for a good time, and customers seem to agree. The good time, in this case, is a new business called The Singing Waffle. Since opening on January 11, Taylor says business at The Singing Waffle has been doing well.
“When you launch a business, there’s typically a ramp-up period,” Taylor tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I’m pretty darn happy that we came out of the chutes with 470 people showing up over the first three nights.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SINGING WAFFLE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE
The Singing Waffle is a karaoke and dance venue catered specifically to Rexburg’s student population. For $8, students can enjoy a Belgian waffle while showing off their musical talents.
“We saw a real void in Rexburg for good, affordable entertainment,” says Taylor. “My wife started thinking about the waffles.”
The Taylors have a waffle recipe that traces back 300 years in their family line. David Taylor has been serving as a Mormon bishop for a student congregation at Brigham Young University-Idaho for the last five and a half years. They have entertained many students in their home during that time.
“Everybody raves about the waffles, so that was a natural thing for us to build into the business model.”
Jace Allred was a member of Taylor’s congregation and is now The Singing Waffle’s resident DJ.
“I love music and putting on shows with a big crowd,” Allred says.
And with a playlist of more than 15,000 songs, Allred mixes the music in real-time and plays to a packed crowd three nights a week.
Taylor says he and his wife spent many hours combing through Billboard 100 charts to ensure the music was a good fit.
“If you’re a student, 20-26 years-old, 2006 forward is your teenage years and up,” Taylor says. “For 25 percent of our playlist, we went back to 1970 and picked the very best of the best (from there onward).”
“We have Jackson 5, ‘Blame it on the Boogie’, which is a great dance song. I like to watch the kids try to guess who that is when we play it,” explains Taylor.
Taylor says they try to incorporate a lot of variety and a good balance of singing and dancing so that everyone is pleased with their experience.
“We find that people like to break a little bit. So we’ll run 6 or 7 singers and then do 2 or 3 dance songs.”
The Singing Waffle is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 7:30 p.m. They accept reservations for families and church groups Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night. They are located at 157 N. Second East in the old Splatter’s paintball building across from Freddy’s.
For the latest information about The Singing Waffle, visit their Facebook page.