Now, more than ever it's important to maximize your seating capacity and move your dining space to the outdoors. With the complexities of dining room capacity restrictions and the reopening of your establishment itself, offering outdoor dining is an attractive option for both operators and prospective customers alike. There are a variety of different options when it comes to choosing furniture, each manufactured to withstand the elements. It's important to consider the longevity, sturdiness and of course the aesthetic of the furniture before making any decisions.

Know the dimensions of your patio space. See how much space you're working with before deciding what furniture to buy. Especially with current guidelines for social distancing of at least 6 feet between tables and people, you may find that you the space fills up quickly. You'll also want to leave room for your staff to move about to service tables, and for people to get in and out comfortably.

Here is the main furniture needed for successful outdoor dining:

CHAIRS AND BARSTOOLS

Consider what type of chairs would best suit your operation and will serve your clientele the best. Typically you will choose between armchairs, sidechairs, and barstools. You may also look at factors like how easily they are stored or if the chairs are stackable. If you need to put your patio away every night, the chairs should likely be lightweight and easy to move to accomodate this. If you have more of a permanent patio you may want chairs that can withstand harsh weather and sun, depending upon your climate.

TABLES

Perhaps the most straight forward option is buying a fully set up table. However if your patio isn't on a steady, flat surface you may consider a table base and tape top separate. A table base can help to accomodate some of the issues with wobbling tables on un-level surfaces. Purchasing table bases and tabletops separately will also give you significant flexibility and additional choice in style and design over a complete table.

UMBRELLAS

Umbrellas add both ambiance and some protection from sun and rain. There are a variety of umbrella styles including; cantilever, windmaster, wooden market and beach umbrellas. We also specialize in custom printed umbrellas to incorporate special designs or logos. Choosing the type of umbrella for your patio can come down to what your tables or the space you have left will accomodate. It could also be a choice of what style and color works best for your establishment

CROWD CONTROL FENCING

Recently some cities have extended the areas in which restaurants and bars can extend their patios out into streets and on sidewalks. This type of circumstance, in addition to regularly busy walkways may be scenarios in which crowd control fencing become a great idea for your patio. Crowd control fencing can be pretty easy to match or coordinate with the style of your tables, chairs and umbrellas - especially if you get it from the same manufacturer.

There are many reliable companies that manufacture commercial grade restaurant patio furniture, including Grossfillex featured in the photos above. Purchasing furniture for your restaurant patio is a large investment so it will pay off to consult with our team of experts about the best style and material that will best suit your operation and give you the ROI you need on your patio space.