Relox Bar owner Elena R. Delos Santos and her service crewmembers Jin-Jin, Deindy, Jo-an, Zara Jane, Cristine Rhea and Aikee.
Relox Bar is located on Palm St. in Garapan.
RELOX Bar, a friendly public singing establishment in the heart of Garapan, celebrates its nine years of karaoke entertainment today, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
Owner Elena Relox Delos Santos and her service crewmembers are ready to welcome you to their happy-hour “excursion” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and join you in singing, dancing, laughing and enjoying drinks with friends all the way to 2 a.m. The bar will be hosting parlor games as well.
It’s a very special night, Delos Santos said as she looks back on nine years of hard but exciting work to bring more night life to the stretch of Palm Street in the Garapan tourist district.
Delos Santos describes herself as a happy person whose passion is to cheer up people by giving them a place to enjoy the night while karaoke singing. She believes this form of vocal exercise can help reduce stress, boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, lower anxiety and lead to a longer life.
“I entertain people as much as I do my best to make myself happy,” Delos Santos said.
Keeping herself busy
When her daughter Savanah left for college in Hawaii nine years ago, Delos Santos said she decided to do something to keep herself busy.
She said the first thing that came to her mind was to find a night job, perhaps in a bar.
When she saw a vacant commercial space on Palm St. in Garapan, she asked herself, “Why not open my own bar instead? It’s something I can enjoy doing while earning money.”
She decided to rent the space and renovate it. She opened the bar with two cases of beer, two bottles of liquor and one helper.
Delos Santos said the space was small, but it was packed with customers, which she did not expect.
She believes that her business survived the Covid-19 pandemic four years ago because many local residents resorted to karaoke singing to cope with mental stress.
Moreover, despite the pandemic restrictions, she said many people still saw the importance of spending a night with friends and loved ones.
Her other loyal customers include those who work on prepositioning ships, as well as Guam residents who are visiting Saipan on business.
Delos Santos said when the gift shop next door closed, she took over the space and extended her bar.
Today, she said, Relox can accommodate up to 50 customers.
“All those nine years involved a lot of sacrifices,” she said. “I studied really hard to know the business. I had to learn how to mix cocktails because the irony is, I don’t drink alcohol,” she added.
For the first three years, she served both as the bartender and wait staff. Today, she employs six service crewmembers whom she calls her angels: Jin-Jin, Deindy, Jo-an, Zara Jane, Cristine Rhea and Aikee.
