No, I'm not talking about the weather related kind. I'm thinking about the sort of vibe that you enjoy when you visit the establishment of a local merchant.
My daughter and I were just discussing the "feel" of the many different coffee and tea houses that we have been in while wandering around our country in recent years. We talked about what we liked in them, what they lacked, and if we were to open our own, what it would be like.
Stella's on Old South Pearl St
We have been in coffee houses with local art on the walls, with music, with live music, with tables, with overstuffed couches, and with game rooms. Some had breakfast and lunch items, others just pastries. Books and magazines are also popular draws for these establishments and encourage people to hang out for a while. We have even been in a coffee shop that also sold flowers. I have yet to visit a coffee shop that is also a bowling alley, but I'll keep looking.
This atmosphere we speak of applies to other merchants as well. Restaurants and retail shops must have a whole science around what it takes to bring people into the shop and loosen them up to stay and spend their money. I suspect that entire towns consider this when they sit down to their urban planning, but that is a much larger scope than I am prepared to discuss.
I have found this theory holds true even in temporary spaces like tents in an art or craft show. The feel of the space, the friendliness of the staff, and the ambient lighting and music can all determine whether a prospect stops to look or continues on their way. I visited a local holiday bizarre a few years ago for the sole purpose of looking at jewelry vendor booths. Many booths were flat, colorless, everything lined up like little soldiers. And empty.
One booth however was nothing short of sweet chaos. Music was playing, the lights were bright, the displays were odds and ends of bowls, small suitcases, and cigar boxes filled to overflowing with the artists creations. You had to touch the merchandise in order to look at it all, picking things up to see what was underneath. The booth was packed, the register had a line and the owner was talking to everyone in line and smiling from ear to ear.
The difference? Not quality, not price point, now even practicality. It was the atmosphere. Women and men alike would walk near, stop, and then they HAD to go in for a closer look. They just had to. Atmosphere folks, atmosphere.
Think about an establishment that you like to frequent and tell me why. It is the smell, the sound, the look...or do you just like the coffee?
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