AV Case Study: Yakisan Restaurant

“Energy without noise,” it’s a goal worth chasing in the restaurant business. Too often operators settle for ‘noise’ as an ersatz facsimile of ‘energy’. And it’s exhausting. Too many hard surfaces raise the clamour – a hostile environment to then pump amplified music into.

Yakisan, part of the Eighty Eight O’Connell Street development in North Adelaide, is an ambitious Japanese-inspired restaurant concept by business partners Nate Scutter and Adam Liston, with the developer, Commercial & General Group, providing support. It’s designed with 150 seats inside, with 50 more across a large garden terrace, but has a generous 700-cap license, providing virtually unlimited function and events potential.

EIGHTY EIGHT CONSTRAINT

Commercial & General Group approached AV and technology solutions provider, Leedall, to design and install a background music system into the space. Leedall was working on other aspects of the the Eighty Eight O’Connell Street AV, enjoying an existing relationship with Commercial & General.

“We had a few constraints,” explains Leedall BDM, Darren Lewis. “The key one was around the feature perforated timber ceiling – we couldn’t cut into it. The Bose Professional DesignMax DM3P loudspeakers provided the answer. The DM3P provides the coverage and frequency response we needed, the sleek aesthetic the owners desired, and the audio quality required for background music duties in a high-end restaurant like Yakisan.”

Elsewhere Bose Professional DesignMax DM2C in-ceiling speakers complement the music coverage around the bar and where the audio install doesn’t need to contend with the feature timber ceiling. Bose Professional subwoofers perform just as well behind the perforated ceiling and are conveniently mounted up and out of the way. A Bose Professional PowerShareX amplifier handles the power needs of all the pendant and in-ceiling units. All the Bose Professional equipment was supplied by Australian distributor, Wesco Anixter.

ENERGY APLENTY

“We regularly get comments from guests about the quality of the background music,” confirms owner Nate Scutter. “They tell us the venue has energy without noise, and that’s exactly what we wanted from Leedall. On top of that, the loudspeakers have plenty of power up their sleeve if we need it. The Bose Professional system has exceeded our expectations.”

It’s heartening to hear that acoustic comfort is evidently high on the list of expectations of restauranteurs such as Nate Scutter. Designing for a lively atmosphere, while maintaining conversational comfort, isn’t impossible. You can have both.

Yakisan is one of the most sought after tables in town, and the Bose Professional-powered background music system is an indispensable part of a successful formula.