When deciding to eat at a restaurant, one of the first things that a customer looks for is the palatability and quality of food. It is understandable because any good restaurant equals great food. Having said that, stiffer competition & easy availability of fast food through online ordering apps has made this aspect more of a hygiene factor than a competitive edge. This has led to another interesting shift in consumer tastes, preferences and the things that they assign value to during their dining experience.
Thanks to the new trend of experiential dining, the rise of which many attribute to social media, the reputation, décor, theme & the appeal of a place among a given customer base plays a huge role in ensuring a continuous footfall.
Additionally, When people enjoy a delicious meal with their friends and family, they would also want to be seated in comfort. The furniture should also blend in naturally with the desired design & theme that the owner of the café/bistro is trying to achieve.
We have already covered all the aspects when it comes to choosing a furniture store, today, we cover the aspects involved in choosing furniture, specifically chairs for your restaurant. Just as customers might not come back to a place where the food does not meet their expectations, they are also less likely to come back to a place with uncomfortable restaurant chairs, even if the food is great. The optimal usage of chairs can really help in increasing a restaurant’s profitability and following are the five important reasons for that.
Investment in quality furniture that lasts long
While many would try to cut corners by buying a lower grade restaurant chair, they must understand that restaurant chair is nothing short of an investment.
This is mainly so due to the following 2 reasons.
- This is specifically true for premium & fine-dining restaurants – The quality of the chair, its leather, frame quality, cushion quality, sturdiness around the joints etc is something that can easily be identified by the discerning customer.
- On an average, hospitality businesses, including restaurants, hotels & cafes replace their furniture every 2 years. This is mainly due to poor quality and dilapidating furniture. To avoid this, one might as well, pay slightly more and enjoy furniture that lasts for over 5 years.
So the trick really is to find heavy duty chairs fit for a restaurant’s requirements and suppliers that’ll fulfil that requirement.
Before we continue with the post, we’d like to thank our information source FurnitureRoots that specializes in delivering & supplying heavy duty commercial dining chairs for restaurants. [Know more about them Here]
Making the most of the available space
The chairs can actually help you have the most of the space that you have available and aid in the profitability of the place that way. For instance, if the restaurant is of moderate size, then there is no point in opting for expansive tables and chairs as you will just be giving more space for lesser number of people. Besides, the objective is also to ensure that people can move smoothly in all the areas of the place. Expansive chairs in a moderate or small restaurant can obstruct that. On that other hand, if you keep very small chairs in a restaurant that has a huge space, then the place can look too overcrowded, which might be a turn off for some customers.
The shape of the chairs to reflect the type of restaurant
The shape of the restaurant chairs can also affect the dining experience of your customers. Keeping a number of cozy chairs around round tables can encourage conversations and a warm vibe. If you have the kind of restaurant that caters to couples and romantic dine outs, keep ornate chairs around two-seater tables to bring out that classy vibe. If you are the kind of place that mostly gets families and kids, then it might be a good idea for you to consider investing in a combination of chairs and couches.
Keeping the maintenance cost under control
The cost of cleaning the furniture, including those chairs, form an important part of the maintenance budget. You’re very likely going to extend the lifespan of the furniture if you schedule routine maintenance.
In most cases, the supplier himself takes care of this on a bi-annual basis if the maintenance is part of the contract. But this can easily be done by your local carpenter as well. Simply using epoxy coatings, resin & powder coating is more than enough to get the job done.
If you are opting for fabric furniture, like upholstered chairs and the likes, make sure that it is colorfast and stain resistant. Keep in mind that light colors on the upholstery, though trending for quite some time now, can stain really easily and need frequent cleanups.
Different styles to cater to different demographics
Just as tables, chairs in a restaurant can be both portable and anchored. Anchored chairs are attached to the floor and are highly space-efficient. But, they are difficult to renovate and not suited for elderly guests of your restaurant. Portable chairs, on the other hand, can be place at any place that you want. You can even turn a small table into a big one by joining a couple of portable tables and chairs. Even the elderly and larger guests will have no problem with the portable chairs.
In fact, the assortment when it comes to the number of seating option for restuarants itself is endless. One can choose from bench seating, restaurant booths – U shaped, I Shaped, Corner booths, swivel bar stools, crankable bar stools, sofas for seating, upholstered chairs, wrought iron chairs, the list goes on & your choice for the furniture depends largely on your target audience.
Even the options when it comes to material used is endless. Choose from Teak, Mahogany, Oak, Sheesham and many more varieties.
Is timber the right option for you? Check out this post to know more.
The chairs at a restaurant are the aspect that is usually overlooked because it gets taken for granted. This is one of the significant factors to take into account because it ultimately forms a big part of the customer’s experience and any restaurant would want to see its guests come back to it time and again.