The overriding advice that any budding restaurateur should take when designing an interior is, do not go it alone. There are plenty of qualified and experienced interior designers to choose from and other, more experienced, restaurant owners and managers will normally be happy to offer help and advise. Learn from their experience.
Obviously, one must consider a range of things, but always start with the practical and profitable. How many covers can you comfortably accommodate? How large do tables and chairs need to be? What type of flooring to choose? Where are the loos in relation to the nearest dining tables? Is your restaurant layout ergonomic and suited to staff flow? What type of lighting should you have? And is the seating appropriately comfortable?
We have all seen poor design. It is easy to overlook things or get them wrong during the design process. So, to help you when it comes to choosing restaurant furniture, and in particular restaurant seating, here are our top five pointers.
1. Select ‘appropriate’ seating. In other words, what is right for the customer. In fast food outlets, where you rely on a high turnover of customers, it is worth considering hard furniture like solid wood or plastic. It is easy to wipe down quickly and if it’s not too comfortable customers won’t linger! Alternatively, in a fine dining establishment, look to provide decently upholstered chairs that are luxurious to sit on.
2. Be aware of the impact of coronavirus. Ensure that whatever type of seating you choose is easy to clean. And during the cleaning process ensure that the sides and legs of seats are wiped/sprayed as well as the seat and back; from our observations few restaurants include this in their cleaning regime.
3. Remember your hard-working staff. Chairs are regularly moved so they should not be too heavy, awkward, or bulky. Especially if they need to be pushed in and out whilst diners are being seated.
4. Look at the very latest design trends, and then avoid them. Trends come and go with alarming frequency, like fashion. Trends can look dated and even silly when they are no longer in vogue. Restaurant furniture should be stylish. The best way to select it is to consider whether the same design or style could be used equally well within another designed interior or colour scheme. That way, in two or three years when you look to change the restaurant interior, you should be able to retain and use the same seating, with a potentially massive saving.
5. In most towns and cities, rats and mice outnumber humans by at least ten to one. Vermin will nest in seemingly inaccessible spaces, like under banquet seating that is boxed in! Do not give them a home in your restaurant!
If you want to find quality restaurant furniture or to appoint a designer, you’ll find both in GS Magazine – online. Happy hunting!
GS Magazine 