Running a restaurant is a high-risk and high-reward proposition. If you run your restaurant effectively and have some luck, you can turn a profit in a few years. Most restaurants fail within the first year; others fail within about five years. If you want to survive the first year all the way to the sixth year, you need to set yourself apart instantly. There are many would-be restaurateurs opening restaurants every year; furthermore, there are established restaurant owners who are always opening new restaurants and leveraging their skills to be successful. If you want to be successful, you need great food, but you also need something that other restaurants don’t have. One thing you should consider is music.
Restaurant Music
The music that plays in a restaurant can be very important. Part of being a successful restaurant is establishing a theme. That’s not to say you need something kitschy and gimmicky like a pirate theme, though. However, you do need to decide upon an aesthetic so people know what to do and what they are getting. For example, if you want to be a fine dining restaurant, you need to commit yourself to that fully. That way, people will know that your restaurant is a good choice for romantic evenings. Others would like to be a casual family dining restaurant. If you blur the line between casual and fine dining, you could find a niche, but more likely you’ll just confuse people.
Those who are looking for fine dining will be turned off by the family atmosphere, and those who want to bring their families will be dissuaded by the fine dining aspects. The menu and the atmosphere at your restaurant is very important. You also need to make sure you have the right music. Music playing softly in the background of your restaurant is a vital step of setting a mood. Unless you have professional musicians on staff, you’ll need to buy the best backing tracks you can find.
Backing Tracks
A backing track is a piece of music that is made with a general purpose in mind. Generally, they are recorded by professional musicians and offered in a library of generic tracks. They’re typically differentiated by their theme. For example, there will be action movie tracks, somber tracks, dance tracks, and so on. If you find a good library of great tracks, you should be able to find some kind of track to fit just about every scenario. Such tracks can also be used for your restaurant. If you are running a fine dining restaurant, you’ll want something timeless and classic. An assortment of string instruments is generally a good place to begin your search for restaurant music. When customers walk in and hear the soft sounds of string instruments, they’ll instantly know they’re in a fine dining establishment.
Alternately, if you want to run a casual restaurant, you’ll want some music that is more exciting and kid-friendly. A library of backing tracks is essential for any type of restaurant.
