Once you’ve decided to purchase or build a new restaurant, you may be surprised at the amount of choices you’ll need to make. The initial monetary and personal time investment can be daunting. If you plan correctly, you can make this process less daunting and more manageable- even have some fun! This article will discuss the task of purchasing commercial restaurant furniture. This is one phase of building and designing a restaurant where with the right assistance and knowledge, you can have some fun in the process.
One of the basics in purchasing restaurant furniture is to make sure the restaurant chairs, barstools and tables you purchase are commercial grade. Many restaurant owners have initially purchased residential, or non-commercial, grade furniture for their restaurants thinking this will save them money or perhaps they may not even know there is a difference between residential and commercial furniture for restaurants. First of all, residential barstools and chairs are not necessarily less expensive than commercial furniture. Depending on the size of your restaurant, you will probably be able to purchase commercial furniture at a more reasonable price, because most experienced commercial furniture dealers sell in wholesale furniture bulk quantities, which when priced in bulk with shipping, can cost less than residential furniture. Commercial restaurant furniture is also a better choice from a liability standpoint. Barstools, chairs and tables built for residential use may not stand up to the constant use demanded in restaurants, where you many different customers may use the same furniture daily. Commercial furniture is built to specifications that make it much more durable and longer lasting. If you are using residential furniture in your restaurant and it breaks, causing injury to a customer, your restaurant could be liable for damages. Commercial restaurant furniture purchased from a reputable dealer comes with a warranty. Also, many times residential furniture will not hold up in a commercial setting, causing you to replace your restaurant furniture much sooner than if you had purchased commercial furniture initially.
The second basic thing about purchasing commercial restaurant furniture is to ensure that it is comfortable. When purchasing restaurant furniture, there are certain layout and design elements to consider. If you are purchasing restaurant booths, are the booth seats and backs comfortably padded? Are the booth’s spacious enough? When ordering booths, there is a minimum space requirement to ensure comfortable spacing for customers between the booth seat and table. When purchasing restaurant barstools, booths, or chairs, consider whether the back and seat design are nicely contoured, sturdy and supportive. When considering barstool, chair, and table configurations, is the space between the table top and the chair seat sufficient? There is a minimum height clearance between the restaurant table top and the seat of the chair which is comfortable for most customers. When ordering restaurant bases with your table tops, consider if the base is the correct size, shape and fit for the table top. The clearance for customers legs beneath the table and around the legs of the base must be correct so that customers are comfortable and not constantly kicking the table base. An experienced commercial furniture representative can assist you with all of these design and layout elements, and maximize the use of your space, all while ensuring the comfort of your customers. Involving your commercial furniture representative in the design phase can be invaluable.
Now comes the fun part of purchasing commercial furniture. This is the one area in the planning and construction of your restaurant where you can really let your personal taste, design preferences, and personality shine. The options in colors, patterns, styles, materials and sizes in commercial restaurant furniture are limitless. Do you like lush fabrics with wild splashes of color and modern lines? You can order exactly that look for your restaurant. Do you prefer the classic and timeless look of warm wood butcher block table tops and timeless wood chairs? Well, you can certainly purchase that look and even customize the stain for each to be exactly the colors you have in mind. Maybe you are a fan of the nostalgic 1950’s diner look of vinyl booths, laminate tables and backless barstools. You can order that look in an infinite array of colors. These are just a few of the possibilities in commercial restaurant furniture design, and relying on your own individual style and the assistance of an experienced commercial furniture representative, you’ll be able to design exactly the look you want for your restaurant.
