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Three New Giraffe Bars Released into the Wild
Family restaurant group Giraffe, which has undergone a rapid expansion during 2006, has opened three new venues at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, The Centre:MK in Milton Keynes and the Brunswick Centre in London’s Russell Square.
Once again the new restaurants have been equipped with audio products from the Harman Pro UK portfolio, including JBL speakers and Crown amplifiers. These sophisticated sound systems were designed and installed by The Sound Division Group.
Giraffe has built its reputation on offering global food and an eclectic mix of world music over a 15-hour trading cycle. Having developed a portfolio of 12 units over seven and a half years in the Greater London area, the company is now moving to high-footfall, green-field locations. Earlier this year it opened units on the promenade outside the Royal Festival Hall and in the regenerated Spitalfields market.
Run by partners Russel and Juliette Joffe, and Andrew Jacobs, Giraffe had been looking to standardise on its background music systems having been contracting its audio on an ad hoc basis early in its history.
Giraffe’s directors contacted The Sound Division Group, headed by David Graham, and gave the company the job of refurbishing the existing equipment in newly acquired operations in Muswell Hill and Wimbledon. This led to further contracts to install full JBL systems on the South Bank, Spitalfields and at the latest venues in Manchester, Milton Keynes and Russell Square.
Each venue has been equipped with a selection of JBL Control 25AV, Control 28, Control 29 and Control 24C (ceiling speakers). The Sound Division Group has also installed Crown amplifiers in each venue and, at the larger sites, dbx ZonePRO 640 DSP for full loudspeaker management.
“The Giraffe concept is a global one – and music is a very important part of the overall experience,” says The Sound Division Group’s managing director David Graham. “The quality of the sound system needs to reflect this, so we chose JBL speakers powered by Crown amplifiers and, where necessary, managed via dbx ZonePRO because we were confident that this combination of equipment would offer the clarity, control and sonic integrity that our customer required.”
Graham adds that the system was ideal for high profile bar/restaurants such as Giraffe. The aesthetic design of the Control series is optimised by the ZonePRO, which offers versatile 6-input/4-output DSP from one box, and the Crown amplifiers are sonically excellent.
“This elegant Harman Pro solution has bedded down nicely within the Giraffe estate and they are delighted with it,” says Graham. “The fact that their brand logo is orange — matching that of JBL — is a subliminal bonus!”
Giraffe plans to open more restaurants in 2007 and is in the process of developing various sites in Southern England as future rollout potential.
8th January 2007
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