Clay's Café Acoustic Treatment

David WatkinsonDavid spent six years as a professional touring musician and has two decades of experience in customer service, sales, and technical support. He specializes in projects big and small, including restaurants, churches, theaters, and industrial manufacturing jobs. 1-800-782-5742 Ext. 0118

The Issue

808 West Main Street in Hebron, Ohio has housed an ice cream parlor and eatery since 1932. A local staple, Clay’s Café is a great place for friends and family to catch up, laugh, and have a bite to eat. After a flood in 2012 caused some damage to the carpeting in the dining room, it was ripped up and replaced with tile. This caused a drastic increase in sound reverberation between the walls, ceiling, and floor – making sound more intense. Glenna J., owner of the café, didn’t like the look of traditional acoustical panels, but found the perfect solution when learning about AlphaSorb® Art Acoustic Panels.

At Clay's Café, custom-printed acoustic art panels on the walls reduce loud noise in the dining room.

The Challenge

“The dining room at Clay’s was carpeted until March of last year when we had a flood," explains Glenna J., owner of Clay’s Café. “We had to rip up the carpeting and decided to replace it with a ceramic tile. The noise level in the room tripled and it was so hard for the servers to hear the customer. With a ceiling that is only 7 and 1/2 feet tall, the noise was captivated. The noise also traveled out to the ‘big room’ where we have booths and a counter. We researched for a long time what a solution to the issue might be. In looking online at different acoustical panels, I ran across a picture on Google Images of acoustical panels that had pictures of people on them. I was against just hanging plain panels up, but was intrigued by these. We called your company and Cory [Diggs] told us how many square feet we would need to help. I had my daughter and some staff members help decide what to put on the panels. Susan, my daughter, took the pictures and the rest is history.”

Restaurant using Acoustic Art fabric wrapped panels for room art and acoustic control.

The Solution

Glenna used photographs of the café’s menu items taken by her daughter and sent them to Acoustical Solutions to be turned into acoustically transparent fabric. The printed fabric was then used to create a custom set of sound-absorbing picture panels. “The panels are beautiful and artistic in themselves. We did hang silver panels on the ceiling. Some customers think that the ceiling panels are the only thing helping with the noise but when I tell them that all the panels are acoustical they are shocked," says Glenna.

In the Customer's Own Words

“Cory [Diggs] was wonderful to work with. He was extremely helpful in what we needed and made sure our order was correct before it shipped. Now, the dining room is much more enjoyable, and the décor is outstanding! We are so happy with the panels. The servers and the customers both appreciate the change. Thank you so much for allowing us to share.” — Glenna J., Owner, Clay’s Café

To learn more about how Acoustical Solutions can solve your noise control problems, use our contact form, call one of our Acoustical Sales Consultants at (800) 782-5742, or visit us on the web at acousticalsolutions.com.

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