Critical Mass is the most legendary character in restaurant mythology. Every successful, hip, fashionable, trendy restaurant has been visited by Critical Mass. Most of the non successful endeavors have been shunned by its magical presence. Critical Mass slips in unannounced, sprinkles their magic dust and moves on. No one has ever seen Critical Mass, only the lasting effects of their visit are discernible.
One day the restaurant is plodding along with a few guests enjoying your offerings, the next there is a line out the door and that line never stops. The restaurant is unaware of any specific event that triggers the awareness, however it is unmistakably there. There are times when a restaurant critic’s review will trigger an influx of guests, however the paradox is that the same reviewer’s positive review of your establishment can produce hardly a blip. Critical Mass has not visited yet. Critical Mass can be a child, octogenarian, business man in a thousand dollar suit, a parent with stroller, a tourist on holiday, an antique you buy for the restaurant, the critic’s review, or the shopkeeper next door.
Theorist will tell you that any event is the result of many small incremental events (Law of Accumulation) or the “Hundredth Monkey Effect”. The effort you had been putting forth in building your restaurant and doing all the “right things” bore fruit. The paradox again is that you can do the exact same things, put in even more effort and still the tables sit idle. There is in restaurant mythology Critical Mass, when the right person, event or inanimate object walks in, at the prescribed time to alter your reality. Luck it is said is the meeting of opportunity with preparedness.
All of life is non-linear so be ready. Critical Mass will visit your restaurant, the problem is that you do not know when. Consistency is the key, do not alter your scheduled hours because business is slow, if you say you are open until 10pm do not close at 9pm. If you offer a signature item on your menu do not skip a day because you were unable to go to the store to purchase the ingredients. Critical Mass will visit once and only once, to borrow a line from “The Prophet”, “if it finds you worthy, it will guide your course.”
Here’s hoping you are visited today by Critical Mass.
