5. Music (perhaps live)
A bit of light dinner entertainment can be a big crowd draw.
Have you been thinking of something to change the looks and ambiance of the place? A small area with tape marking the floor indicating where a musician can sit or stand during weekend evenings might work well. Some restaurants can fit that in. Others cannot because they need table space working for them. You’ll have to look around, think, and perhaps experiment with it. In any event, get a good musician, and audition the musician first. Be sure to discuss appearance, volume, what he/she will wear, their hair and beards, and anything that might cross your mind about appearance and what is comfortable for you. If the musician doesn’t fit your ambiance, don’t hire him. Find someone else or just return to stereo music. I prefer stereo music. It’s less expensive, and you can control the volume so patrons can enjoy conversation together. When word gets around (or is included in your advertisements) that there’s soft music, it tends to draw in a particular group. Therefore, you must carefully choose your music.
If, for example, you want a crowd of better cultured, and wealthier patrons, choose piano, orchestra, serious music. If you want a particular age range of Chinese friends, you might choose more traditional music. If you prefer younger people choose music you know they’ll like.
Scheduling music consistently at your restaurant brings a certain crowd through the door as it gives you events to promote and makes your restaurant look like an exciting place to be. What might work at the top of the Casino Hotel might be all wrong for your place, so you must consider this carefully.
If this idea is not appealing, go back to owning a good stereo with better quality speakers, and a pleasant selection of gentle, pleasant music that can play at a volume quiet enough so patrons can enjoy their conversation without trying to shout over the music. You can review music on the Internet. You might find stores in the city that sell DVD’s and have someone there to help you make choices.
This is something to consider carefully. You could go into a few restaurants that have music and get a feeling for it bit sitting down for a meal or at least a drink. Talk to the restaurant manager or owner. Everyone in the community in the F&B business should seek to associate and be friendly with one another. One way or another, some time or another, we can help friends to keep our lives stable and keep the business going, or perhaps in future years sell it to a friend.
Be sure to see the work I’m doing to bring More Customer Traffic in to YOUR place. Look here for more useful ideas. https://sgshopper2030.com/more-customer-gaining-quick-tips/
Contact me and keep in touch. My intention is that we work together to help you keep your business prosperous.
Steve Newdell
