BEYOND BARS: 5 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR A BOOMING NIGHT TIME ECONOMY

Broadbeach QLD Australia Image Source:

I’m writing this newsletter from a tapas bar in Broadbeach. It’s 7pm on a Wednesday night in the middle of winter and the joint (comprising over 100 restaurants and Cafes in a 3 block strip) is JUMPING. Sales per m2 for restaurants here trade more than 50% higher than Urbis regional averages (with subsequent rents per m2 to match!). There’s no nightclubs in Broadbeach and only a handful of bars, so why does this night time economy (NTE) in Australia trade so well when so much focus at present is on the troubles that start from 11pm – King Hits and Lock Out Laws?

Recently, Brain & Poulter has presented our views on developing a vibrant and sustainable night time economy at two major forums – The International Cities and Town Centres Conference and The Urban Land Institute’s Night Time Economy Forum. Given the desire by so many of our subscribers to create night time economies for their assets I thought we should share our key insights from these two presentations on what it takes to develop a booming night time economy.

“F.A.P.A.C.”: 5 Critical Success Factors To A Booming Night Time Economy

Brain & Poulter practices evidenced based design. We seek to measure the financial performance of design, placemaking, space plan, program and tenancy mix decisions to ascertain best practice elements in all our recommendations to ensure our clients assets are developed based on evidence rather impulse. After years of research and working with some of Australia’s biggest property developers and retailers we’ve identified a framework for gauging the success or failure of food catering in any asset. So, here are the 5 critical successful factors for a successful night time economy, boiled down into an easy to remember acronym “F.A.P.A.C.”:

Pacific Werribee’s Urban Diner. A recent redevelopment combining food and entertainment.

1. Features

What does the area identified for a NTE offer beyond the tenancy mix to attract patrons? Think views and water features, trophy parking, the ability to promenade past all offers, dine al fresco, feast on public art displays, catch a movie, engage in free public performance, watch the kids at play. Well curated features aligned to the size and influence of the primary target markets stimulates frequency of engagement and a sense of energy for the precinct.

2. Appetite

Does the primary trade area have an appetite for night time activities such as dining? A trade area populated by young families has a different night time appetite than a trade area dominated by university students and Millenials. Likewise, trade areas with dense Asian ethnicity have a different frequency of dining out than more Caucasian trade areas. Understanding the density of population and Dining DNA of the trade area has a marked influence of the quantity and type of night time economy that can be developed.

3. Practicality

Droll as it is, to develop a successful NTE the precinct must be practical for customers to access and operators to trade in. A dining precinct that is on a thoroughfare to/from somewhere will trade better than a precinct that goes through to no where. The evidence in our database is as relevant for this fact whether it be the location of a food court within a shopping centre or to the location of a NTE in a city. Wider footpaths or pedestrianised malls that allow consumers to promenade past alfresco dining increase comfort levels for browsers and customers. Visible public security cameras, high levels of street lighting and parking lighting levels all enhance the feeling of safety for NTE’s. Well planned back of house servicing manages pest control and street congestion.

There’s only one Vegas!

4. Authenticity

Long lauded as a benchmark in placemaking, Citiwalk in Universal Studios in LA was featured in study tours for many years. But is it authentic? Australians have a naturally high ‘B.S.’ barometer and the manufactured architecture of Citiwalk, with its stage set shop fronts and theme park tenancy mix doesn’t cut it for most Aussies. The same could be said for Vegas but that’s where Brain & Poulter raises the authenticity challenge. The architecture, design and place making of Vegas IS VEGAS. It would be out of place in Milan but in Vegas it is exactly what you would expect. Currently we see a lot of architecture in one state being replicated in other states in an attempt to develop the NTE. However, a copycat approach does not always result in success.  The numbers show that architecture reflective of the trade areas foundations and aspirations trade better than architecture forced upon us because it looks and feels great in another city or state. Be true to reflecting a sense of place.

5. Critical Mass

Research population density before working out how much GLA can be committed to food catering.

Sure Pike Place and World Trade Centre in New York City have an amazing buzz that any NTE precinct in Australia would love to replicate but how’s this for a stat. In downtown NY, the average population density is over 10,000/km2. In London, we see a similar story with population densities exceeding 10,000/km2 in most inner boroughs. Yet in Sydney only Potts Point and Darlinghurst get close to that density level. But time and again we review retail plans where the entire ground floor is presented to be “activated” by a buzzing NTE economy reliant on F&B floor space.

Reviews of floor space usage in Australian cities reveal that around 28-30% of retail GLA is dedicated to food catering. That’s basically 1 in every 3 shops. Now it’s fair enough to push the food catering ratio higher in say a premium waterfront tourism destination. However, for most other assets, F&B planners and developers need to come to terms with alternative ways of planning the retail landscape for a successful NTE and present more of a retail, leisure and entertainment mix than just 100% of floor space earmarked for food catering!

The Way Forward

So in planning for the future, on top of the F.A.P.A.C. features outlined above, Brain & Poulter implores:

• Planning authorities to think holistically about NTE ‘s and propose sustainable quantities of retail on the ground floor plane that can support a variety of uses beyond food catering;
• Regulators to consider changes to the core trading hours for retail in densely populated or high tourism regions; and
• Collaboration between government and industry to develop public programs and places with a variety of community interests and activities.

Why Broadbeach Kicks Ass

While so many people are focused on the NTE problems of inner city Sydney and Melbourne, Broadbeach etches its way into the performance history books as a thriving NTE economy success story. Scorecarding Broadbeach against Brain & Poulter’s “FAPAC” critical success factors Broadbeach scores a mighty 83% – testimony to how many success criteria it embraces.