I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN THE POWER OF MUSIC in setting the mood for doing business. Back in the early 80’s I opened a small, intimate gourmet restaurant called Hines’ Mansion. After I sold it, it became a luxury bed & breakfast. Before we owned it, it was a different restaurant and I distinctly remember the music that the previous owner played while people were dining. It was a popular “soft hits” FM station where bad commercial spots constantly interrupted the dining mood. I could never understand that.

After my wife and I bought the restaurant and reopened it, the first thing we did was purchase a high-end reel to reel tape deck and recorded many hours of hand-selected music tracks—all recorded from vinyl records. The sounds were amazing and transformed the dining experience.

Here at our agency, Lava7, I’ve had many clients ask about the background music that’s played here. Of course today there’s no reel-to-reel deck—just an iPod.