Planning to open a restaurant or a café? A lot of effort goes into zeroing in on a great location, finding the best team, and designing a great menu. And in this social media age, the décor tops the charts. It is important to decide what type of furniture would be most suitable. After all, your guests would spend most of their time using this furniture. Juggling with comfort, durability, cost, how it fits with your theme, you have to master the balancing act. Sounds tough? RedOAK brings you a quick guide to discover the best furniture for your new dining project.
The key decision any restaurant owner has to make is between materials – ingredients to a great place. Plastic, wood and metal are among the best available options that suit not only a variety of décor but also provide best value for money. Furniture manufactured in wood or metal is durable and you can be rest assured that you would not have to replace or repair them for a very long time. And they will continue to look evergreen!
Now let’s figure out which type of furniture will be the best for your restaurant or café.
- Go by the type and theme of restaurant or café
Are you planning to open a casual restaurant or a fine dining restaurant that is all about creating a sophisticated atmosphere? Your furniture should suit the environment and the vibe that you want to create. Go for metal or plastic furniture if it is a casual eatery and choose wood-framed furniture for a fine dining theme. With metal and plastic, the advantage is not only cost, but also the option of adding a lot of vibrant colors to the casual ambiance.
If your restaurant has an outdoor or patio option to seat customers, then prefer keeping wood furniture over metal because metal furniture has a tendency to get warm or cold during varying temperatures, while high quality wood furniture, say teak wood furniture, retains a suitable temperature and uniform texture for added comfort. While if it’s a buzzing café, you can go for metal furniture, with chair designs that are breezy and modern, and allow for quick reorganization. Cane or PVC wicker on aluminum or seasoned teak wood frames make for good long-lasting outdoor furniture.
- Maintenance of your furniture
In a restaurant, both kitchen equipment and furniture are two such things that demand the most upkeep. Often a mistake that new restaurant owners make is going for residential quality furniture, which requires high maintenance and cannot withstand the daily wear and tear for long. RedOAK offers superior commercial grade furniture, ensuring that joinery, hardware, and other potential problem areas are well taken care of for a durable use.
In this context, both wooden and metal furniture are very durable and are super easy to clean. But you need to factor in what needs more long term upkeep. On one hand, where wood furniture would require regular polishing to maintain its texture, metal furniture can withstand years of use with next to no maintenance. Also, wood furniture can be well taken care of by using high quality upholstery and metal chairs and tables may require regular coats of paint to avoid fading. Having said that, it is advisable to regularly paint or polish your wood or metal furniture but both types integrally need minimal maintenance if they are of the best quality.
- Understanding your customers’ needs and expectations
In marketing they say that building a customer persona and then targeting that profile is key to success of a product. Similarly attracting the right clientele and having them come back to your restaurant is what defines an eatery’s success.
It is extremely important to know the type of customers that you are expecting or targeting for your restaurant or cafe. Here are a few things to think about. Will your target audience expect something more modern and eclectic, or will they be expecting something more traditional and elegant? How many customers are you expecting at a time? Would you need long tables to host large groups or cozy booths? Consider your restaurant furniture options with your keeping in mind the target demographic.
Once you have this information in place, deciding wood or metal furniture would be an effortless task.
- Budgeting is key
Last but perhaps the most important of all, is the budget that you have kept in mind. It maybe common to find that furniture would account for a large proportion of your budget. With that, won’t getting high quality wood or metal furniture from a trusted source at the right price will tick all the boxes?
Although wood furniture can be expensive than metal furniture, commercial grade wooden tables and chairs have several advantages that make them a great one-time investment, such as resistance to warping or shrinking, and some natural woods like teak wood are naturally resistant to water and insects. Metal, on the other hand, has more variety and flexibility when it comes to designing a space. You can choose metal furniture for both different seating patterns and paint it in bright colors to create a vibrant atmosphere.
RedOAK offers superior quality commercial grade wooden and metal furniture. What’s more? It can be customized to suit your preferences. Get in touch today to discover our range of restaurant and café furniture options.