Compilation of restaurant acoustics data logged in Omaha, Nebraska

Abstract

The high levels of noise in many restaurants continue to be a source of discomfort and complaints for customers. A measurement campaign of local occupied restaurants has been underway at the University of Nebraska since 2019, to gather data towards understanding how owners and acoustical consultants can better design restaurant sound fields. A review of the results obtained to date is presented, including the sound levels experienced in a restaurant over the course of an evening, those levels compared to occupancy, octave band distributions, statistical levels, how levels change at different locations in a restaurant, and the percent of time that levels in the restaurant exceed 70 dB. One goal in the project is to link the measured objective data to subjective responses of the occupants. Progress on that goal is also discussed in this presentation.