Is It Time To Update Your Restaurant Furniture?

Running a restaurant can be a non-stop round of planning, servicing customers, cleaning up after them, and then doing it all over again. Amid all this activity, there may not be much time to review your current setup and consider how well it is serving your business goals.

But if you want to ensure that your restaurant continues to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones, it can be worthwhile to take a little time to reflect on the important pieces of your business.

When it comes to any hospitality business, things like tables and chairs may not seem like aspects that require regular attention. But these key pieces of furniture are perhaps one of the most important ways your customers experience your business, second only perhaps to the food itself.

For instance, you may devote all your time and attention to marketing your restaurant to get people in the door, and then serving the best food possible, but if your chairs are worn and uncomfortable and the tables look dated and damaged, the overall impression may seriously let down your business.

Given that word-of-mouth and reputation management are vital parts of a successful restaurant business, it’s important to ensure your furniture is playing its part in your venue’s success.

With this in mind, it’s a good idea to assess your current restaurant furniture setup, to see if it’s doing its job of performing a perfect backdrop to your hospitality and cuisine. To help you with this review, here are three things to look for when assessing your restaurant’s tables and chairs.

Practical & Easy To Clean

Keeping your premises clean and tidy is a non-negotiable in the restaurant trade. However, certain styles, materials and surfaces make this easier than others. When you consider your tables and chairs – are they practical and easy to clean? Or are you or your staff spending more time than necessary cleaning difficult surfaces or fabrics?

If you realise that the furniture you’ve chosen or inherited is not the most practical, it may be a good time to consider alternatives, i.e. the pieces that will be easy to maintain and cost-effective to keep clean. While it may seem like an additional expense to purchase new restaurant furniture, you may well find that it’s an investment that soon pays for itself if you are able to reduce cleaning and maintenance costs.

Smart & Well-kept

While some pieces of furniture look better with age, there are others that don’t stand up quite as well to the ravages of time, particularly in a high-use environment like a busy restaurant. So, as you assess your tables and chairs, try to see them as your customers see them.

Do they look smart and well-kept? Are they in good condition? Or do they look dated, damaged or well-worn? It can be difficult to notice as things become worn out when you are around them every day, so one good trick is to take photos of your premises.

You’ll likely find that any glaring flaws stand out much more obviously in a photograph than they do when you assess your space from your usual vantage points. With just a few shots of your premises, you’ll get a new perspective and a fresh insight into which pieces of furniture are starting to look a little shabby or worn.

Customer-Friendly

Beyond the aesthetics and practicalities, it’s important to assess just how well your current restaurant furniture serves the mission and goals for your business. Are the tables and chairs a match for the kind of clientele you want to attract? Does your furniture reflect the vision and ethos of your business? If you don’t answer a resounding Yes to these questions, it may be time to consider investing in new restaurant furniture that is a better fit for your business vision.

Another important consideration is whether your existing tables and chairs are user-friendly. For example, you may have fixed tables or heavy furniture that doesn’t adapt well to layout changes. Any restaurant owner will know the benefits of being flexible with table layouts, as well as those customers who wish to rearrange things when extra people turn up unexpectedly. If your furniture is not suitable for meeting these spontaneous changes, it might be worth considering whether more flexible arrangements would better serve your customers and the shifting demands of any hospitality business.

Taking some time out from the busyness of your business can help you to see just what’s working and what can be improved. When it comes to your tables and chairs, using these tips to assess your current arrangement will help you decide the right time for your next furniture upgrade.