As the concept of ‘eatertainment’ continues to grow in Canada, Avi Behar, chairman and chief executive officer at The Behar Group Realty Inc, shares insights on emerging trends, technology innovations, and the future of combining food, beverage, and entertainment in Canada.
“Today, more than ever, consumers want to be entertained. They’re seeking value, fun, and a meaningful social experience. Venue owners continue to raise the bar on quality and calibre of food, beverage, interior design, and overall service,” says Avi Behar.
Current trends in dining and entertainment
Consumers today are wanting more than just food – they want a unique immersive experience offering entertainment and engaging experiences. Several key trends are shaping the industry such as interactive experiences, competitive socialising, and technology integration.
Interactive Experiences
Instead of just going out, consumers are looking for spaces they can interact with, such as the Rec Room, Dave & Buster’s and Illuminarium, offering a blend of dining, gaming, and immersive experiences.
These venues have activities that are both engaging and social, providing a full experience beyond a meal.
“The industry has transformed, and you are seeing the utilisation of space taking different twists and turns. Adept operators are looking to create interactive experiences resulting in better choice for consumers. As such, many customers are now opting for immersive experiences to augment more traditional dining.”
Competitive Socialising
Another trend Behar is seeing is competitive socialising, a trend combining food and beverages with games and interactive activities.
“Concepts such as Flight Club, Oche and Puttshack couple state-of-the-art technology with high quality food & beverage, all in a fun and engaging environment. These concepts are playful, and they work well through multiple day parts. They cater to a large corporate audience, and they also provide an amusing option for social interaction before or after dinner or a show. The idea is that people can hang out, spend some time, and not necessarily sit down in a formal restaurant environment, but still be well fed, have a good time, and perhaps get a little competitive.”
Behar says that one of the competitive socialising pioneers in Toronto which opened about 14 years ago was Spin on King Street West, which is a ping pong pub. Another company offering competitive environments and dining is The Ballroom Bowl which is expanding in Canada.
“We’re seeing global operators developing comfortable and engaging places where you can eat, be entertained, have some drinks, and where one can host private events. These venues are set up to accommodate substantial corporate business, they could double as event spaces.”
Technology Innovations
New innovations are reshaping and enhancing consumers’ experiences. Behar says one example is Flight Club as it uses technology to track dart scores and provides instant replays, creating an engaging game, accessible, and easy to track down points.
Similarly, Behar says F1 Arcade offers racing simulators that deliver a realistic Formula One driving experience. The arcade also has food and beverages for guests.
“Brands are really embracing technology. People can have a few beverages and they don’t need to tabulate the score as it is all done for them. Games include HD digital screens – you can see an instant replay of yourself hitting a bullseye. Operators have blended state-of-the-art technology with high quality service, food, and atmosphere.”
Overall, Behar says there are interactive concepts emerging from almost every type of sport, including darts, hockey, and golf. Behar also says these spaces could be more than just restaurants, but a “place to go before or after you go to a restaurant, instead of visiting a traditional bar or nightclub. After dinner, you may still want to go out and do something else that is a little more engaging. These concepts easily fill that void.”
Retail spaces – combining entertainment with traditional retailers
Innovative dining and entertainment concepts will drive more traffic and will keep consumers engaged for a longer time, which increases overall spending.
Behar says entertainment dining concepts also invite property owners to rethink how they are using spaces and being more creative on less used areas such as parking garages: “In certain cases, you are seeing a space that is not just your traditional retail space, it is a space that might be on a second level, a third level, or a parking garage downtown. Property owners should curate and design space to accommodate appropriate or leading-edge tenancies at the earliest possible stages of acquisition and development.”
As it is a great idea to test a concept first, Behar also mentions the increase in popularity of pop-ups used to fill vacant spaces. This trend is expected to grow until companies are comfortable with permanent spaces. Additionally, flexible space designs are becoming popular as they can adapt to different times such as daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonally, which could maximize revenue and enhance consumer experiences.
“With the ongoing uncertainty in the market, pop-ups have been a great way for landlords to fill a space, test out new brands, and assist in the incubation of new concepts and business models. There is little doubt that we will see a continued increase in pop-ups to fill spaces temporarily, until more permanent solutions are found.”
Behar also suggests property owners should design spaces to support tenants and to use the most “up to date retailer prototypes.”
“Developers should establish themes for development, the neighbourhood, and the community at large. This should include a focus on both indoor and outdoor design, and should take into consideration customer experience, function, and flow of cohesive and engaging spaces.”
With each location, dining and entertainment brands will continue to attract visitors and will help out local businesses as well. Behar says to maximize impact, brands should engage with the local demographic, offer consistent and high-quality experiences, and create a sense of community.
“Dining and entertainment brands draw customers from all over the place. They support the community in many ways: driving traffic and revenue to a community, establishing destination-driven experiences where individuals and corporations will travel to experience, and they also provide employment.”
What is missing and future for dining and entertainment
Behar says the main thing that is missing is “cohesive, multifaceted, and multidimensional concepts which tie together business types. As an example, venues which bring together sports, recreation, hospitality, health and wellness, retail, and food and beverage – in an engaging and technologically advanced manner.”
Despite challenges like food, labour, and operational costs, Behar believes that careful selection of location and strategic partnerships can lead to success: “I have little doubt that we will see the continued rise in Canada of entertainment hubs, competitive socialising concepts, and elevated cuisine. Canadians are becoming increasingly sophisticated consumers, and the demand for quality will continue to escalate.”
