Let’s face it: just serving great food isn’t enough to make a restaurant successful. The fact is that customers will always look at your restaurant first before they even step inside to check out the menu. This is why it’s so important to create an awesome atmosphere for your restaurant. An awesome atmosphere will not only get customers in the door, it will also keep those customers coming back, hopefully with their friends in tow.

Here are 5 tips for creating that awesome restaurant atmosphere:

1. Come up with a concept

The restaurant concept will be the central theme that connects every detail in your restaurant. For example, if you settle on a Hollywood diner theme, you would serve All-American cuisine like burgers and steaks, while your décor could include famous movie scenes and custom marquee lights that look like the front of a theater. You can even go the extra mile and have your staff dress up as iconic actors. 

2. Know your customers

A big factor in creating that awesome atmosphere is determining what kind of customers you want to attract. Do you want your place to cater mainly to families going out for dinner, employees on their lunch hour, students looking for a place to hang out, or couples looking for a romantic spot? The answer will let you know how to what kind of mood to set in your restaurant. 

3. Light up the room

Lighting is a big part in achieving the ambiance you want to set for your restaurant. In fact, there are businesses that specialize in proper lighting. When thinking about lighting, it’s important to keep your restaurant concept in mind. For a family-friendly setting, bright and playful lights are a great choice, while a more romantic setting would call for more subdued lighting. Using Marquee lights is also a bright idea as it improves the overall design of your restaurant while also illuminating the entire place.

4. Decorate the walls

Put decorations up on your restaurant walls to give the atmosphere an extra boost. Place antique-looking marquee lights on the wall of your vintage-inspired restaurant, or hang a few paintings for your sophisticated café. 

5. Pay attention to the audio

The sounds that your diners will hear in your restaurant contribute to the overall dining experience, so it makes sense to consider the acoustics. Just imagine a couple trying to have a romantic dinner while loud noises emanate from the kitchen. Improving the acoustics could be as simple as changing the table layout, or may involve putting up dividers.