8 Ways Magicians Can Benefit Your Restauruant

1. Decrease Walk Outs

If you own a busy restaurant, you've probably had people walk out due to long wait times. It's an unfortunate side effect of receiving lots of patronage. However, a magician can be your ace in the hole to prevent these potential customers from slipping through the cracks.

 

As opposed to the only option being to sit around and wait for an available table, pending patrons can be shown to the bar area or a separate dining space where the magician performs a small show while they wait to be seated. If no extra space is available, the magician can do strolling type magic in the waiting area, or if there's good weather, perform outside. This way, people are encouraged to wait for an available seat instead of facing the grim choice of boredom or leaving your venue.

 

2. Gain A Competitive Advantage

The restaurant industry is super competitive, and nowadays customers have a variety of choices of where to eat. How can you entice people to walk through your doors when they have literal  dozens of other restaurants to choose from? The answer is simple; offer something that nobody else is offering.

 

While "dinner and a show" may sound cliché, how many people actually get to have that live entertainment and dining experience? The reality is that there's not many (Door Dash and Netflix don't count). Sure, you could hang your hat on your unique cuisine to drum up business, but that's the same thing that every other restaurant is doing. Magic has that "wow" factor that can elevate your guest's experience from a nice meal into an exclusive bespoke experience. Not many restaurants can say that about their services.

 

3. Upsell Private Events

Lots of restaurants have a private room or party area for people to book for private events. That's a lot of space that gets taken up that could've been used for a decent handful of extra customers, so why not make the most out of the situation?

 

If people are booking private events, that means they will stay for longer than someone who is just coming for a nice meal. Offering a 20 minute magic show for the event can be an upsell that helps tip the financial scales into your favor.

 

Will people stay longer because of it? Most likely. But a professional magician isn't uncle Tom pulling off his thumb for the family talent show. People are willing to pay for professional entertainment, and that can help offset the costs of hosting a private event at your restaurant.

 

4. Boost Marketing Potential

Getting people interested into walking through your doors can be a hassle. However, having a magician at your venue gives you great content to use in your advertising. Perhaps you could have a "magic night" every week to encourage more patronage during the slower days. Maybe there's a cocktail hour that you could promote and have the magician keep people's attention for a bit longer so you can offer more drinks. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination. Have some fun with it!

 

 

5. Unobtrusive Entertainment

If you decide that entertainment would work in your venue, there are many options to choose from. However, most forms of entertainment such as live bands, comedians,  and singers have to be experienced by the whole venue. Patrons have to listen to them whether they want to or not.  The best case scenario is everyone loves the entertainment. Worst case scenario is that some people leave or have a subpar experience because they didn't want to be interrupted during their meal .

 

This is not a risk you should have to take. The good thing about a strolling magician is that if a particular table doesn't like magic or they don't want to get involved, they simply decline the offer and the magician moves on without disturbing the customer. This allows you to put on entertainment which most customers will enjoy, but where you don't have to worry about driving away any customers who may not want to participate.

 

6. Support Staff In Emergencies

The real secret of a restaurant magician is actually the usefulness he provides to the Staff. Of course, a magician is there to add to the vibe, bedazzle the guests, and elevate the overall experience into something extraordinary. But  there's much more to it than just performing a few tricks.

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Suppose there is a problem in the kitchen resulting in a delay on food service. Depending on the customer, this could turn into a bit of a headache for both staff and patron alike. A good magician will work with the staff in the restaurant to ensure any problems are dealt with quickly and effectively.  If there is going to be a delay, the magician can selectively make his way to the table and inform the customer that it is his job to entertain them while they wait. Before the customer knows it, the food has arrived and they didn't have an issue waiting at all.

 

 

7. Encourage Repeat Customers​

There are few places that audiences can go to see magic, and even fewer places to see GOOD magic. Places where you can see good magic AND get good food are extremely rare. When people experience this ultimate combination, they usually want to experience it again and show their friends. There have been a few times where customers have come to a restaurant I've worked at specifically because they wanted to see the magic. And this is good news for a restaurant.

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Most restaurants work with me on a residency basis.  This means that I go into the restaurant on a weekly or a biweekly basis.  This is the absolute best way to use a magician to the fullest extent.  Word of mouth gets people excited to try new things, and magic will definitely get people talking!

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8. Appeals to All Audiences

The great thing about magic is that you can adapt the performance to cater to the specific demographics of a venue. Magic in a high end restaurant could include sleight of hand, mind reading and effects designed specifically for an adult audience. For family restaurants, the performances can be changed to appeal more to children and teenagers. Armed with an eclectic range of magic, a magician can have something up their sleeve for everyone to enjoy!