Entertainment fi yuh restaurant: eleven ideas an wah dem really cost
Entertainment inna hospitality almost never go wrong pon di idea. It go wrong pon di execution: something weh tek too much work, need too much space, or only work one time. Below a eleven forms, wid fi each one di honest truth bout wah yuh get back an wah it cost yuh.
Ongoing, every day
1. Games pon di table via a QR code
Work every day, nuh cost no space an nuh staff. Fill exactly di gap between orderin an servin. Downside: it nuh a reason fi come special; it mek a visit betta instead a drawin guests. See di overview.
2. A open kitchen
Di strongest form a entertainment out deh, an di most expensive. Only comes up if yuh a renovate.
3. Board games inna a cupboard
Nice an cheap fi start. Inna practice, pieces get lost an somebody haffi keep it up. Work best inna cafes weh people sit long, less inna restaurants weh di table need fi turn ova.
Weekly or monthly
4. A pub quiz
Di best way fi fill a quiet weeknight. Tek two to four hours fi prepare each time if yuh write di questions yuhself. Fully explained inna di guide.
5. Live music
Draw a crowd an totally change di vibe. Cost money per night, tek up space, an yuh haffi tink bout noise rules an neighbours. Only work if it fit yuh place: acoustic inna a small restaurant, louder inna a cafe.
6. A themed night
A country, a season, a dish. Work good if yuh keep repeatin it consistently an yuh regular guests start fi expect it. Nuh work as a one-time ting.
7. A tastin or workshop
Wine, beer, coffee, cookin. High spend per guest an a strong reason fi come, but it need a staff member fi dedicate di whole night to it.
Seasonal
8. A patio activity
Boules, a dartboard, a table tennis table. Work excellent from April to September an get inna di way rest a di year.
9. A match pon big screen
Fill di place pon moments yuh already know bout. Downside: guests weh never want see a match nuh come dat night.
Fi families
10. A play corner
Draw families, tek up square footage yuh need pon busy nights, an haffi keep clean. See also wah parents really look fah.
11. Colourin pages an puzzle books
Cheap an easy fi start right away. Keep a pickney busy fi five to ten minutes an yuh haffi keep restockin dem.
Wah suit which moment a di week
Entertainment solve two very different problems, an it help fi know which one yuh have.
Fillin a quiet night
Tuesday an Wednesday, when di place half empty. Yah yuh need a reason fi people fi cóme, an dat a something yuh announce: a quiz, live music, a theme. Something weh always deh there nuh solve dis — nobody come special fi dat.
Mekkin a full night betta
Friday an Saturday, when di place pack an di kitchen fall behind. Yah yuh need exactly di opposite: something weh always deh there, nuh need attention from yuh staff, an bridge di wait time. A quiz night pon yuh busiest night jus mek it heavier.
Most places have bot problems, an dem choose one solution. Dat a why it so often only half work.
Wah each form cost, side by side
Money rarely a di deciding factor; time is. Dis breakdown help yuh see wah yuh really a spend:
- One-time money, no ongoing time: a dartboard, a table tennis table, a cupboard a board games. Cheap fi maintain, but seasonal or space-hungry.
- Ongoing money, no time: games pon di table. A fixed amount per month an nutten more, even pon a busy night.
- Money an time each time: live music, a tastin, a workshop. Di strongest crowd-pullers an di most expensive form inna both ways.
- No money, plenty time: a self-written pub quiz. Work excellent as long as di person weh write it keep it up, an fall apart soon as dat person leave.
Dat last category a di trap most places step inna. Something weh seem free cause it nuh produce a bill can be di most expensive option.
De three mistakes weh people mek most often
Bring in something pon di busiest night
Di temptation is fi start when it full up, cah dat's when most people see it. But dat's exactly when yuh staff nuh have time fi it an it goes wrong. Start pon a quiet night, weh a mistake nuh get notice.
Stopping too quick
Di first time almost never work out. A quiz night need three to four editions before a regular crowd forms. If yuh conclude after one time wid eight people dat it nuh work, yuh stop exactly too soon.
Three tings at once
If yuh bring in a quiz, a play corner, an live music inna di same month, yuh won't know afterward what helped an what got inna di way. One ting at a time, wid two weeks between.
How yuh choose
Walk through dese three questions before yuh bring inna anyting:
- Does it work every day, or only pon di days weh I organize it?
- Does it cost mi staff time right when it busy?
- Can I tell within two weeks if it ah work?
Di forms weh score well pon all three are di ones weh stay. Di rest get quietly stop after a month.
Di difference between entertainment weh stay an entertainment weh disappear is almost always how much work it costs pon a busy night.
Wah entertainment work best inna a restaurant?
Forms weh work every day widout extra work pon a busy night. Table games an an open kitchen score highest deh; live music an workshops draw more crowd but cost money an manpower each time.
Wah entertainment cost inna hospitality?
Dat range from basically nutten fi coloring pages to hundreds of dollars per night fi live music. Di real cost usually nuh a di money but yuh staff time.
How mi know if someting ah work?
Watch spend per table, share of desserts, an number of reviews fi two weeks, an compare di same days of di week wid each other.
Is a play corner a good idea?
Only if yuh really have di space fi spare. It cost square footage weh yuh need pon busy nights an pull children weh from di table right when di food come.
Waan try table games yuh self?
Give yuh guests more experience from di first day.