Some restaurant owners are finally waking up and realizing that their customers may actually want to hear their dining companions while eating out.
We have blogged in the past about the noisy ambiance many restaurants maintain to generate “buzz” about their establishments. But some restaurant owners are finally waking up and realizing that their customers may actually want to hear their dining companions while eating out.
The New York Times recently ran an article describing some of the high-tech innovations that eateries are using to keep the noise level down while preserving the aesthetics lent by trendy materials such as glass, metal and stone. One restaurant soon to open is planning to use a sound-absorbing layer of rubber beneath the floor. Another has spent about $20,000 to coat the ceiling with two inches of “sonic spray.” A similar-minded restauranteur has used a porous acoustic plaster called Baswaphon on the ceiling to absorb noise like a giant sponge. A company in San Francisco has developed a system in which tiny microphones and speakers throughout the restaurant work with a computer so that noise levels can be monitored and adjusted automatically.
Thanks to a better understanding of acoustics, restaurant owners can use these technologies to create audio zones inside their space. And with customers enjoying a more manageable noise level, proprietors are finding that they are staying longer and spending more.
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