Outdoor patios, rooftop bars, and sidewalk dining allows restaurant owners to expand their space while creating a unique, open-air experience.
As spring approaches in New York City, you’ll see bistro tables and chairs lining sidewalks, the scents of Sunday brunch or classic Italian fare wafting through the air. Outdoor dining helps restaurant owners make the most of their real estate and provide an enticing dining experience you won’t find in every city.
Meanwhile, luxury hotels guide A-list guests into private elevators to access exclusive bars or lounges with a dazzling view of the Manhattan skyline.
Whether you are opening a new restaurant or planning a retrofit, it’s important to create an on-brand vibe for outdoor diners, making a sidewalk meal as enticing as sitting at the bar or a booth inside. In short: Restaurant sound and video is just as important to your guests outside as it is to those dining indoors.
Get ready for summer outdoor dining with restaurant audio and video systems that sound and look great, withstand the elements, and don’t disturb your neighbors. Consider these factors as you think about what you need in restaurant sound and video systems for your outdoor dining areas.
Sound Containment to Meet Local Ordinances and Keep Your Neighbors Happy
Sound containment becomes a major issue when retrofitting patios and sidewalks for dining and entertainment. Even if you aren’t going all-out with live bands or DJs, you’ll want high-quality music service for ambiance.
Making sure that sound doesn’t bleed onto neighboring streets – or even into that boutique next store – can help you avoid complaints or citations. Proper tuning and speaker placement ensures your guests hear the audio the way they want, while still being able to carry on a conversation.
Acoustical treatments around the patio or deck may also help mitigate noise, as can decorative elements like sunshades or umbrellas. Proper audio design, coupled with the right products, helps keep the sound on your property where it belongs.
High-Quality Restaurant Sound to Overcome Background Noise
Just as you want to keep your music within the confines of your dining area, you don’t want your guests’ experience marred by outside noise.
Within a restaurant, unwanted sound from HVAC systems, ice makers, and espresso machines can make conversation difficult if you haven’t focused on proper acoustics. Likewise, the chatter of conversation can distract from music or game-time if you haven’t tuned your system properly and set the appropriate volume levels.
But outside diners and waitstaff may have to contend with passing traffic, airplanes, sirens, and other street noise. These sounds can be louder (and less predictable) than the ambient noise inside your restaurant.
High-quality audio systems can overcome at least some of the disruptive noise to create a more pleasant al fresco dining experience.
Durable Sound Systems Able to Withstand the Elements
Of course, outdoor audio systems present different challenges than indoor background music. Your speakers must be in weather-resistant enclosures and able to withstand temperatures in the northeast. Just as you wouldn’t put television screens from Best Buy in your commercial venue, (you know better than that, right?) you don’t want to use indoor speakers outside.
For an outstanding background music system that can bring a Vegas vibe to your Jersey Shore restaurant deck, patio or sidewalk, Dara AV often chooses the Klipsch Compact Performance Series or the Community Professional R or W Series. Community is a local New Jersey brand that offers multiple lines of outdoor speakers to fit your needs and budget. Dara AV can put together a system that works for you.
Video Systems that Stand Out
If you want to give your outdoor diners a similar experience to what they’d enjoy inside your venue, video completes the atmosphere. Screens and projectors can present unique challenges outdoors due to ambient light and mounting points for projection system hardware.
For outdoor applications, you need a bright LED, a Samsung QLED, or even a Direct View LED that is also weather-resistant. Peerless and Sunbrite are other brands that offer high-quality commercial screens that perform well in high-ambient light conditions.
If you have more than a few bucks to spend, consider direct-view LEDs from brands like Christie. These video walls often have invisible bezels to fit together seamlessly and are designed for outdoor viewing.
Of course, screen placement and line-of-sight considerations help ensure all your patrons can see the content if they want.
Integrate It All with the Best Control Systems
Don’t forget that you’ll want us to connect your outdoor restaurant sound and video to the control systems inside your venue. Authorized staff should be able to pre-set audio levels, adjust volume and audio content on the fly, and change sources on any screen seamlessly from a touch screen or mobile device.
Let Dara AV Help
Wiring your outdoor venue for the best restaurant sound and video may require some creative thinking. Contact us today to outfit your New York or New Jersey restaurant with outdoor audio and video systems to expand your space and create a unique experience as warmer weather rolls around.
