Last night I went with some friends to Panna II,
a tiny little Indian restaurant in the East Village. A crowd of 50
people were standing outside and every 5 minutes the manager would come
to the door, hold up some of fingers and yell out the number of people
he had room for (at least I think that's what he was doing, the number
he yelled didn't always match the number of fingers he held up).
When we finally got inside (almost an hour after our reservation time),
it felt like we were in a cattle truck. There were strands of pepper
lights hanging from the ceiling (you had to duck, just to walk around)
and the waiters were yelling at each other and the guests trying to fit
them in.
It was a remarkable experience, in fact I've already told 4 or 5 of my
friends back home about it. Here's the interesting thing: the food was
at best, average. But the story is priceless.
Which are you giving people? A product or an experience.
Jon Dale 
I agree. People want to create a total experience. How many Indian restaurants are there in East Village? How many restaurants are there in New York with empty seats even on the weekend in this economy? And yet, this place has a line to get in. Most restaurants and coffee shops focus on selling food, generating revenues and filling seats. Many show us images on a superficial way but it goes in one ear and out the other because we have heard a copy cutter version a thousand times before. Few tell a story worth telling others.