At the heart of any restaurant lies its furniture. Apart from being functional, it is a crucial design element that affects the restaurant layout. As a customer, one expects the restaurant table and chairs to be comfortable, visually appealing, and trendy. As a restaurant owner, one expects them to be sturdy, durable, economical, easy to clean and maintain. While selecting restaurant furniture, it is hard to strike a balance between these qualities. The availability of restaurant furniture in so many materials, designs, colors, patterns, etc., adds to the complexity.
If you are just starting your dream restaurant or remodeling an existing one, it might be tempting to consider used furniture to save costs upfront. After all, restaurant furniture and equipment make up the bulk of investment during the early days of starting your restaurant business. So, it makes sense to cut costs wherever you can. By opting for used furniture, you can cut-short your startup investment, negotiate prices and get yourself a bargain deal. However, all that glitters might not always be gold. Despite these immediate and enticing benefits, several pitfalls can be detrimental to your restaurant business in the long run.
Reasons for Not Buying Used Restaurant Furniture
Read on to know why you should not consider buying used furniture for your dream restaurant:
1. Not all Used Furniture can be Repaired Easily:
It is a common perception that you can get any chips, dents, or structural damages repaired in your restaurant table or chair. While it is easy to make quick fixes on external damage to furniture, its life and durability may suffer. For example, it can be labor intensive to repair or refinish a restaurant table made from solid wood. Moreover, repairing certain restaurant chairs or tables might disturb their finish and appearance. Additionally, if you are not aware of the original manufacturer or supplier, finding spare parts won’t be easy. Quite often, restaurant owners start small and expand their establishment as the business grows. Without knowing the original makers or suppliers, replacing the existing sets or increasing the seating capacity would be difficult and cumbersome.
2. Used Furniture May Cost You More in the Long Term:
For restaurant furniture, the cost of ownership includes the initial investment to buy it and any maintenance or repair costs. When it comes to used furniture, while there may be initial savings, the overall ownership cost can pile up in the long term. Getting a great price on used furniture doesn’t always imply getting the best deal. Since you have no idea of how long or how the furniture has been used, you cannot guarantee its condition or performance. Additionally, these frequent repairs and replacements reduce the overall seating capacity and revenue for your restaurant.
More importantly, buying used restaurant furniture also limits your options as per the item’s availability. Just because you are tight on your budget, it doesn’t mean that you must compromise. Buying used furniture forces you to arrange your restaurant theme and decor to match it, rather than being the other way round. On the other hand, if you are buying new furniture, you can select any style, design, color, material, etc., that matches your restaurant’s theme and ambiance. Moreover, ordering the entire new furniture set in bulk can get you discounts that reduce the cost further.
3. Used Furniture May Not Meet the Same Industry Standards:
Unlike residential furniture, commercial furniture in a restaurant has to bear excessive use and rough handling. With used furniture, you never know if its construction followed industrial standards. It would be difficult to figure out the testing and certification for quality control in used furniture. Further, as there is no warranty with used furniture, there is no safety net.
Being in the hospitality industry, as a restaurant owner, your guest’s safety is paramount. Buying used furniture without any certification can pose safety risks. For example, if you are not sure about a restaurant chair’s weight-bearing capacity, it could snap and cause injury to your guests. Whether the used furniture was not tested or not maintained for commercial use, the fact is, there is no way of judging its present condition and ensuring its performance in the future.
4. Used Restaurant Furniture May not be UV Resistant:
When it comes to outdoor restaurant furniture, its UV resistance protects it from fading or damaging in the sun. Made to withstand harmful UV radiation from the sun, UV-resistant furniture is the industry standard for outdoor use. Just as we use sunscreen on our skin to protect ourselves from the UV rays, outdoor furniture gets special treatment too. If left untreated, continuous and prolonged exposure to UV radiation from the sun can cause a break-down in materials and fading fabrics.If you buy used furniture, there is no way of knowing if it was designed and constructed for outdoor use with all the protections.
Conclusion:
In your restaurant, furniture is more than just a functional or design element. It is a means of connecting with your guests and affects their overall dining experience. Getting your restaurant furniture right is the first step in having a successful enterprise. Used furniture can rob you of the freedom to customize, and may also restrict your choices in designing your restaurant layout. Although it might seem like a cost-effective solution initially, its drawbacks can outweigh the financial advantage in the longer run.
With several restaurant furniture materials, designs, sizes, shapes, configurations, etc. It should not be too hard to find a set that matches your budget. Buying commercial-grade, quality furniture from a reputed supplier or manufacturer allows you to make the most of your investment. More importantly, it takes away all your worries about frequent repairs so that you can concentrate and devote time to your passion for food.
Hopefully, the points mentioned in this article will help you make decisions when buying restaurant furniture that will bring you peace of mind and the best value for your investment.
