If you’re planning a new outdoor aluminum dining set for sale for your restaurant or redesigning the one you already have, space is a top concern. With alfresco dining becoming more in-demand than ever, you need to find room to seat more customers outside. When you can lower the wait time for patio seating and make your dining area a spot customers will enjoy and want to return to, you can grow your profits. Let’s talk more about how to maximize your restaurant’s outdoor space.
Tips for Maximizing Your Outdoor Restaurant Space
Design Considerations for Maximizing Restaurant Space
Site Furnishings Built to Maximize Space
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Tips for Maximizing Your Outdoor Restaurant Space
Maximizing your outdoor dining area requires a balancing act between two essential principles. Your patio needs to seat the maximum number of patrons while also making the space more desirable and functional. It takes more than just piling in as many tables as possible to ensure your restaurant can seat the most customers. A crowded area could strain your waitstaff or make for a noisy, cramped dinner experience people won’t want to return to.
After you find the optimal seating arrangement for your outdoor patio, other enhancements can help you get the most use out of it. A few investments can help you keep your alfresco dining area open in cold or rainy weather, allowing you to seat more customers outside year-round.
1. Find More Outdoor Space
The first step to making the most use of your outdoor dining area is to dedicate as much space to it as possible. Restaurants that have previously only had indoor spaces have found creative ways to establish dining areas outside.
In many major cities, local governments have made expanding outdoors more possible. Many have closed down streets to vehicle traffic in popular restaurant neighborhoods, allowing food-service businesses to occupy the sidewalk and streets. In New York City, a recent ordinance has allowed restaurants to extend their outdoor dining area into the sidewalks and streets permanently.
Outside of cities, restaurants have set up large tents in their parking lots to accommodate outdoor diners. If your building has a flat roof and easy access, you could turn it into a rooftop dining room, following the proper legal and safety steps. This solution is a creative way to add more outdoor space and even offer a unique ambiance your customers will love. Guests will enjoy looking down at the streets below and the open sky overhead.
If you’re looking for a more permanent outdoor space, you could build a patio or deck attached to your restaurant. This add-on is the best long-term solution to finding more restaurant space outside. Since dining alfresco is a fun and desirable experience for many customers, a permanent porch, balcony or terrace can boost your profits over the long term.
2. Keep Pace With Outdoor Dining Rules
To have a permanent patio, you may need special permits. Outdoor dining laws vary by state and local government regulations. Get in touch with your regulators to determine what licenses you need for a temporary or permanent dining area outdoors. The laws and permit rules in your region may control whether you can:
Have a dog-friendly patio.
Allow smoking.
Serve alcohol or allow guests to bring their own.
As you plan your space, determine whether you’ll need additional permits for electrical and plumbing work outdoors. You’ll also need to read up on the noise ordinances in your area. They could affect how late you can keep your patio open and whether you can host live music or a DJ.
Many outdoor dining rules affect permanent spaces, but you may find some relaxed regulations for temporary parking lot or sidewalk restaurant seating. Always double-check the laws and regulations in your area before expanding into outside dining for the first time.
3. Keep Your Arrangements and Furniture Flexible
Flexibility is key to maximizing space. If your outdoor seating is multifunctional, you can accommodate more spacing needs. By using movable furniture, for example, you can reconfigure your dining area for private events, large groups, many small parties at once, live music, team trivia nights or any other need your restaurant could have.
While it can bolster security to affix tables and chairs permanently to the ground or set up heavy furniture that deters theft, it can also restrict your flexibility. Even something as simple as pushing two tables together or adding an extra chair can be a challenge.
Having lightweight, stackable and easy-to-move outdoor furniture helps you get the most out of your outdoor space. With the right furniture, you can optimize your arrangements for any occasion. Move tables together for larger parties, or put out more tables for two on Valentine’s day and other nights where you expect a high volume of smaller parties. You can rearrange your patio for a banquet or buffet-style private event with ease.
Flexible furniture arrangements also make it easy to change your layout to make it more functional. If your waitstaff needs more room to navigate the patio, you can create wider footpaths as required. If you host live entertainment once a week, you can clear out an area for the stage. You can also add a lounge, bar or another attraction whenever you want without taking out permanent furnishings.
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