Have you ever been inside a crowded restaurant sitting at a table with your wife or girlfriend only to find that you couldn’t hear a word she was saying because the acoustics in the restaurant were so poor? Most restaurants employ hard surfaces throughout to easily keep the establishment clean and healthy. The problem with all clean, hard surfaces is that they reflect sound. In other words, the sound is bouncing around the room, making it difficult for you to understand what the person at your own table is saying, but instead you clearly hear the lady 5 tables away from you. The acoustics in restaurants are generally awful. Here you are taking the lady you love for her anniversary and paying at least $ 50 per plate and you can’t even have a conversation with her.
Many restaurants are losing business because they don’t know anything about acoustics. There are many things that restaurant owners and managers can do to make the room that much more enjoyable for their customers. These dining areas must be acoustically treated or absorbent materials are needed to absorb reflective noise in the restaurant.
When furnishing a new restaurant, it is always best to add fabric covered chairs and booth seats because fabrics absorb sound. The same goes for bar stools and armchairs and capes. Use cloth covered furniture whenever possible.
Here’s a useful trick for adjusting acoustics in a restaurant. There is a product on the market now called the Echoless Roll material. This is a bonded acoustic cotton roll material that has a neutral black fabric on one side. It’s not a very attractive look for a fancy restaurant, but here’s the kicker. Take your tables and chairs and glue this Echoless roll material to the bottom of chairs and tables, where none of the customers will be able to see this material. The Echoless roll can also be glued to the bottom of the bar and bar stools or to the bottom of any of the furniture in the establishment where noise reflection is an issue. This strategically placed material can reduce the amount of reflective noise by at least 50% to 65%. The more you can use in the restaurant, the better its sound absorption. It can dramatically reduce reverberation times and increase speech intelligibility to the point where normal conversation can take place in a busy restaurant.
