Even though your food is off-the-charts delicious, if your restaurant has the wrong vibe, your customers might not return. With the right food and the right vibe together, though, you will have an unbeatable experience that customers will be raving about. To ensure you hit the right notes when it comes to your restaurant’s atmosphere, here are a few tips on how to give your new restaurant the right vibe.
Music
If you think that light instrumental music will blend into the background of any restaurant atmosphere, you’re wrong. Light instrumental music sets a certain mood, and if the decor and personality of your restaurant don’t match that mood, it won’t make sense to your customers (or your employees who have to listen to the music on repeat). Music, in fact, is such a defining element that it can be used as the foundation to set a certain vibe and serve as a blank canvas onto which your other vibe-setting elements can be placed.
Acoustics
Another aspect of the aural vibe of your new restaurant is the acoustics of the space. It’s hard to overstate how much we learn about a business based on the building’s acoustics. For a more intimate atmosphere, you can utilize significant sound-absorbing materials that will keep the overall volume at a low hum. On the other hand, if you prefer a lively or even rowdy feel, you can fill your space with reverberant surfaces that will allow sound waves to stick around long after they’ve been created.
Light
There are two characteristics of light that can help set the mood in your new restaurant: the brightness of the light and the color of the light. Bright light can add life to common areas, allowing for enhanced group conversation and interaction. Dim light, on the other hand, is best suited for more private and personal areas of the restaurant, helping to set a relaxing mood for those enjoying an evening meal. The color of your light is also crucial and should be carefully controlled using materials such as Perspex, or colored gobos, depending on your light source. By using multiple colors correctly, you can create everything from a tranquil underwater vibe to a funky ‘70s’ feel.
Decor
One of the most obvious ways to create a certain vibe is to utilize certain decor elements. If you think about your favorite restaurants, all of them utilize a certain decor scheme that reflects their personality and menu offerings. Even fast-food restaurants are picking up on the importance of decor, as more and more are being renovated to include local historical artifacts that paint a picture of the community in which the restaurant resides. Determine your personality and find decor elements to match.
The good thing about the multitude of elements that set the mood is that changing the mood can be done fairly quickly if you discover the vibe you’ve chosen doesn’t match what you were actually trying to communicate. While you may not be able to redo all the elements of your space, you can change enough that people will be able to pick up on the new vibe, allowing you to gauge their response to the change. Once you’ve found a formula that works, go all-in to help set your restaurant apart and allow it to succeed for a long time to come.
Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. You can connect with Anica on Twitter @AnicaOaks.
