Mexico. Sonora Grill Group has chosen its technology and products to integrate an efficient sound solution in its restaurants, such as in the recently opened Sonora Grill Prime Masaryk branch.
Sonora Grill Prime Masayk, located in Mexico City, is part of Sonora Grill Group, a Mexican company of restaurants specializing in grilled cuts of meat, whose offer includes two concepts, Sonora Grill and Sonora Grill Prime, which together add up to more than a dozen branches.
Achieving that a restaurant has exceptional audio quality, total coverage and a level of volume adequate for all hours, in a space where a very varied public coexists that seeks to enjoy a juicy cut of meat in a pleasant environment, goes beyond the acoustic and technological challenge. In the case of Sonora Grill Group, the business vision and passion for music of its CEO are the fundamental ingredients to create a space with homogeneous sound in every corner, while diners talk without having to raise their voice and enjoy music with high-fidelity audio.
Exemplary entrepreneur
Sonora Grill Prime Masaryk is the result of eleven years of hard work by businessman Ricardo Añorve and his collaborators. It is a casual restaurant with a decoration that combines the recycling of old metal objects on its ceiling and organic woods in the furniture, with a very careful lighting and avant-garde atmosphere. There is a careful planning in the elegant interior design.
Ricardo Añorve started his dream more than a decade ago in a small taco shop in a neighborhood south of Mexico City. His commitment, perseverance and long-term vision have led him to become one of the exemplary entrepreneurs in the country: 14 branches (as of March 2016) and a goal that expects to have 30 business units by 2018. "The strength to grow, develop and be better day by day comes from the passion with which things are done," Añorve said. "If there is no love in what you do, then your growth is limited."
Delicious grilled cuts of meat are the basis of a comprehensive concept that includes careful customer service, select music with and contemporary décor with Mexican accents, ingredients that create true multisensory experiences that are etched in the minds of diners. "We want to be the number one steakhouse in Mexico," the young entrepreneur enthused.
Speaking of audio, Bose has been Ricardo's favorite brand for many years now. "I have Bose in my house and it makes me very happy." This entrepreneur knew that to obtain an audio system according to the level of his restaurants he had to look for really professional allies. This is how he found Planica, one of the most experienced integration companies in Mexico and dealer of the professional division of Bose for more than two decades, who has been in charge of the acoustic projects of Sonora Grill Group.
"When Sonora Grill Prime decided to include a resident DJ we faced the need to rethink the sound engineering of the place, so we set out to improve the quality, deliver greater reinforcement in bass and cover the entire space homogeneously," explains Gustavo Bruce, design engineer at Planica.
Audio zones, key in quality
The audio system for this restaurant is naturally divided to the areas generated by the distribution of the place. The larger spaces are sounded with Panaray 402 Series III speakers, with MB12 bass reinforcement, where the architectural elements allow it and if acoustically they are useful. While the more intimate areas sound extraordinary thanks to a combination of FreeSpace 203 speakers reinforced with some FreeSpace 3 bass boxes located on the ceiling, hidden by the decoration of vintage metals.
"Bose specializes in tailor-made solutions for restaurants, the design of the speakers and the pre-equalized curves are of great help," says René Aguilar, CEO of Planica. "The brand has taken care of the dispersion, coverage and frequency response for these environments, so when you combine the right boxes and respect the technical guidelines, the implementation is extraordinary."
The Masaryk branch of Sonora Grill Prime is a spacious, asymmetrical place with double heights and a large staircase that dominates the view. The use of materials such as wood, metal and glass from the large windows of the terrace prevails, to which must be added some iconic cacti of the Sonoran Desert. This makes it an acoustic challenge for any integrator. "The glazed areas represent a conflict from the acoustic point of view, but the pre-established equalization scenes in the Bose system help us to adapt the sound in the most natural way possible when, due to the climatic conditions of the moment, the windows are closed or opened," explains Gustavo Bruce of Planica.
"Our goal was to achieve the minimum visual impact without affecting the aesthetics of the place. We divide the restaurant by zones and add a volume control in each area, which makes it easier for the sound level to be as constant as possible. We have 24 channels of amplification, although the bass modules consume much of the power. The processing and distribution of zones is done through an audio management system of 4 inputs and 8 outputs. Finally, the control is carried out from the DJ booth who is in charge of the management of the levels", adds René Aguilar.
In addition, Sonora Grill Prime Masaryk offers two semi-private lounges where diners can control the volume of the music and even play their own selection from a mobile device that connects to the auxiliary entrance of a panel located in one of the columns of the room. That way, people can choose what to listen to.
Curating music content
"Our restaurants have live DJs from 2pm until after midnight, every day. We consider music to be a vital part of everyone's culture. It generates sensations and emotions. And in complement with the food -without a doubt- it is an ideal integration that those who visit us like. At Sonora Grill we promote flavors with other sensations," says Ricardo Añorve.
Music selection is the responsibility of the DJ team. They generate playlists according to the atmosphere of the restaurant and build their own mixtures by perceiving the level of activity of the place, type of audience and schedule. In the evenings, the beat accelerates, which diners like very much. "Music transports you to other emotional states," reflects Añorve. As if that were not enough, Sonora Grill Group is the first restaurant chain in Mexico to have an Internet radio station. (www.sonoragrillmusic.com)
"It's not enough to have the best grill or oven for our cuts of meat. We want to provide a comprehensive experience which involves good music, adequate in volume and audio quality, with a mixture of rhythms that different generations enjoy equally. This is complemented by the architecture and interior design that distinguishes the restaurants of the Sonora Grill Group, "adds its CEO.
Pure auditory emotions
Sonora Grill Prime Masaryk has conquered the palate of a different client, one who is not satisfied with eating well at a fair price, but wants to spend a pleasant afternoon with friends or a special evening with his partner, and that is where Bose has fulfilled the task of adding the elements of auditory comfort and musical entertainment that provoke captivating emotions.
"We chose Bose for being systems of the highest quality with the sound we want within Sonora Grill Prime. Bose is a leader in the market, we do a good dumbbell in branding and it helps our customers to live a complete, warm experience, which they want to repeat frequently", concludes Ricardo Añorve.
