The Quiet Bites project at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln is examining the noise levels that are experienced in restaurants and their effect on patron comfort and ability to comfortably hold conversations.
The results from this research will help to establish how restaurant noise may vary depending on factors such as occupancy, seating density, and reverberation time, while also defining acceptable criteria for noise in different dining environments. Restauraunt owners, armed with these results, will be able to make intentional and strategic design decisions to shape their restaurant soundscapes to promote patron and staff comfort.
How loud is your restaurant?
Are you a restaurant owner interested in participating in our measurement campaign?
We work with our restaurant partners to...
- Perform full-day measurements by placing sound level meters inside the restaurant to measure noise levels and thermal cameras to count occupancy without identifying patrons.
- Perform acoustic measurements of the unoccupied or nearly unoccupied space before opening.
- Leave flyers at tables encouraging patrons to download a free smartphone application, SoundPrint, that allows users to measure restaurant noise levels using their own smartphones!
- Share measurement results with owners to help them assess and control sound levels within their restaurants.
Contact us:
If you have any questions about the Quiet Bites project, please reach out to Samuel Underwood (samuelunderwood@huskers.unl.edu).