How RollHouse reimagined an unused space into a karaoke room

How a family-owned Ohio entertainment group turned a forgotten banquet storage room into one of their most-booked experiences, for a buildout cost of just $15,000.

We spoke with Eddie Gable, Chief Operations Officer at RollHouse, to learn more about the project and how the idea came to life.

The RollHouse story

RollHouse isn't your average bowling alley. What started in 1992 when Eddie Gable's grandfather and father bought their first lanes in Solon, Ohio, has grown into seven locations across the state.

RollHouse locations are now full-blown family entertainment centers with laser tag, escape rooms, large arcades, craft cocktail bars, and from-scratch kitchens.

"I think you always have to be a little bit willing to be bold and be the first to do something, and see if it works,"

That philosophy has shaped every reinvention of the RollHouse brand over the past three decades.

So when their team started looking for the next thing, karaoke and Singa caught their attention. They had seen how concepts outside of the U.S. like O'Learys and others were successfully using it, and noticed that not many local venues in the family entertainment space were offering it yet.

The unused closet problem

At the Solon location, RollHouse had a roughly 700-square-foot room being used to store banquet equipment, extra plates, and silverware. It was generating exactly $0 in revenue.

After a conversation with Singa, Eddie and his team started brainstorming. They had the space. They had an in-house construction crew, electricians, lighting people, and a network of local artist and antique-collector friends with strong design instincts. Transforming it into a karaoke room became a clear solution.

The build: $15,000, mostly DIY

Rather than hiring out a full design-build, RollHouse sourced creatively and built in-house:

One wall covered in astroturf, sourced on a deal from Home Depot
A full mirror wall, made from dozens of mirrors collected by a local artist friend and sold for "pennies on the dollar"
Silver spray-painted mirror frames mounted so guests can see themselves singing through the entrance door
Custom lighting designed to create a vibe where people actually want to sing and dance
Singa tablets and a sound system as the core karaoke setup

Total all-in cost, including sound, flooring, paint, decorations, and everything else, came to roughly $15,000.

The numbers

The Solon karaoke room now generates approximately:

$45,000 to $50,000 in karaoke room rental revenue per year
$80,000 to $85,000 total when food and beverage attached to those bookings is included

For context, RollHouse charges around $70 per hour on weekends for the room. Spread across a group of 15 people, that's under $5 per person, affordable enough that groups happily layer on food, drinks, bowling, and arcade time on top.

@dariandiaries There are various Roll House locations throughout Ohio & the one in Solon Ohio has a private karaoke room you can rent🤭 It’s the perfect birthday spot, girls night out location or perfect for the whole family! #ohio #rollhousesolon #thingstodoohio #ohioblogger #ohioinfluencer #ohiokaroke #cleveland ♬ Girls just wanna have fun 2k19 remix - KB 🌴

Who's booking the room

The sweet spot is groups of 10 to 14 people, with the room officially marketed for 16 (though Eddie admits they've squeezed 20 in on occasion).

The audience skews toward:

Young adults celebrating birthdays and friend gatherings
Families looking for a private space
Corporate groups adding karaoke onto kingpin suite bookings, where karaoke becomes an easy additional activity for employees

Most bookings come in through the online reservation system rather than pre-booked packages. Groups rent the room, get a dedicated server who knows how to work around active singers, and order food and drinks on the fly.

Expanding the concept: the Mentor location

The success at Solon prompted RollHouse to bring karaoke to their Mentor location, but with a different model.

Mentor has the Bomb Bar, an event space built during COVID with a local artist friend. Two decommissioned World War II bomb shells hang above the bar, surrounded by eclectic industrial furniture and a built-in stage. During the holidays, RollHouse transforms it into a fully decorated Christmas bar that partners with influencers and consistently blows up, a campaign that started about five years ago and keeps growing.

But outside the holidays and private events, the space sat empty. Karaoke became the answer.

The Mentor model is self-service karaoke rather than a private room. Guests check in with the Singa Discovery Station, add their name to a remote queue, and take the stage when called. RollHouse is also packaging the entire space, up to 75 people with karaoke included, for $1,000 on weeknights as a corporate event option, with food and beverage on top.

"$1,000 for 75 people, that's very affordable for these company events,"

It's a way to monetize a room that would otherwise be dark Sunday through Thursday.

What's worked in marketing

RollHouse drives karaoke awareness through a mix of channels:

Outbound sales outreach to corporate clients from each location's sales team
Paid social and YouTube TV campaigns that rotate throughout the year
In-venue marketing, including promotional slides on bowling scoring TVs, front desk scripts, and occasional half-off room promotions
Easy add-on positioning for any corporate or private event already booked at the venue

The karaoke room is woven into the broader marketing department rather than treated as a standalone product.

The takeaway

RollHouse's karaoke story is a case study in finding revenue in the spaces you already have. A dead storage closet, a $15,000 buildout, a small in-house team, and a willingness to experiment turned into an approximately $80,000 annual revenue line, plus a new reason for groups to choose RollHouse over the competition.

As Eddie puts it:

"That closet was generating no money before, and now it is."

If you're in the Cleveland area, it's well worth checking out the RollHouse karaoke room for yourself.

For operators looking at their own venues, the question worth asking might be: is every square foot in your venue actually generating revenue?

Want to see how karaoke could work in your venue? Get in touch with Singa to learn more about adding karaoke to your space