The pandemic has hit every business hard. Even with takeout orders being permitted, restaurants and cafés are taking a huge loss. However, with outdoor dining solutions, the impact can be mitigated. Using outdoor space for dining can generate much-needed revenue.
So how can you create that outdoor dining space? For starters, don’t just wing it and put out flimsy chairs and tables, make it an experience so customers will want to come back again and again. Remember, you still have competition, and standing out from the business down the street can make all the difference right now.
Utilizing patio space, parking lots, and even opening an area that’s enclosed by drop curtains and awnings, is a great way to start increasing your sales. So where do you start? What should you be thinking about? Here are some things to consider and to do when creating an outdoor dining area.
- Convert a section of your parking lot and put out some sturdy tables and chairs.
- Contact your local awning company for industrial strength and quality canopies and awnings that are capable of weathering constant sunlight, wind, and even some rain. Remember, cheap patio covers as awnings, canopies, and other popup shade structures break easily, tear, and cost you more because you will have to keep replacing them.
- Convert your patio area into a dining area – if you don’t have a parking lot you can utilize – by installing a patio cover or awning to shade guests while they are eating.
- Remember to social distance your guests by ensuring tables and chairs are six feet apart.
- Ensure your outdoor dining space is safe by blocking off a sufficient amount of surrounding area from cars and other types of traffic.
- Decorate or Light up your shade structure for nighttime dining which will dazzle your guests and keep them coming back for more than just take out. Remember, when people dine-in, they tend to order more. (Or at least that’s been my experience).
- Customize your Awning or Outdoor Dining Space by installing a shade structure that will wow your customers.
- Advertise your Outdoor Dining option by hanging a sign and call attention to your restaurant’s beautiful new addition.
For more than 100 years, we at American Awning and Blind Co. have installed custom awnings, retractable’s, curtains, and shades for the restaurant and hospitality industry. We’re the experts in our field and can help you through this pandemic by working with you to create that outdoor dining area so you can get back to business and generate some sales. We’ve worked with restaurateurs, architects, designers, and contractors on projects all over Southern California. We walk you through the process of creating your outdoor project, from design, permitting, structural engineering, fabrication, and installation so you have peace of mind.
Let us know if we can help you and contact us now for your free consultation with our awning and shade experts. For more information about outdoor dining solutions, feel free to contact us. For more information about what we do and other shade structures, visit us online at American Awning & Blind Co. at http://americanawningabc.com. (Our California Contractors License is #999050). Or give us a call at 800-654-5933. You can also email us at info@americanawningabc.com.