Imagine the sounds of soft laughter and the clinking of glasses; the sights of sunlight illuminating across plates of fresh food; and the touches of light summer breezes weaving between the tables. These aren’t just any tables. They are the tables on your restaurant’s outdoor patio and they are filled with happy customers enjoying the great outdoors while paying for food and drinks.

Why add shade protection to your outdoor patio? One of the biggest deterrents for customers who want to dine al fresco is Mother Nature. Whether it’s raining, windy, extremely hot or bitterly cold, you want to make sure your outdoor seating area is comfortable for your guests all year round.

Here are a few of the benefits of integrating covered patio seating into your business plan.

Impact on the bottom line

If you’re looking for a sure-fire way to boost your restaurant’s revenue, covering your outdoor patio seating is the answer. Diners enjoy the sights and atmosphere when eating outside with friends and family. Therefore, having shaded seating not only ensures that you are always open for business, but you collect all the revenue you would have lost on days of inclement weather.

Extend the outdoors seating season

When the weather gets chilly, your covered patio easily transforms into a three-season space with the addition of heat lamps or towers. Where temperatures are warmer, you can add ceilings fans or misters to keep your guests cool and comfortable. With appropriate coverage, you can maximize the use of your outdoor space throughout the year.

Enhanced Ambience

There’s nothing like the romance of al fresco dining. Mother Nature provides its own ambiance and great views. With a custom retractable canopy or roof, you have the option of turning up that romance by opening the shade so your guests can have dinner underneath the stars. Have the canopy or roof custom designed to compliment your branding and to give a cohesive, inviting look that adds to your business’ curb appeal. You can also use the shade structures to support hanging plants and exterior lighting. This will help draw in those customers who walk down the sidewalk looking for a place to have dinner.

Better Customer Experience

Having protected patio seating offers a dining experience that is comfortable, unique, trendy to patrons, and assures you reservations. However, the proof is in the pudding. Take a look at the success of our customers who added a shade structure to their new or existing patio, rooftop and sidewalk restaurants.

Patio

Fionn MacCools’ Irish Pub transformed its patio area to accommodate more people. The busy restaurant added an additional 100 seats to their already 222-seat inside bar and dining area. Corner Bank Sports Bar & Grill built their patio from scratch to provide a more intimate experience for their patrons on the outdoors.

Rooftop

Wayne Gretzky’s Toronto Sports Bar and Oasis Rooftop Patio had an issue with the blazing sun in the summer and the random bursts of inclement weather. The 1500 sq. ft. dining space was covered with seven canopies ensuring that the area was weather-proof. On the other hand, Rooftop 25 at Twenty Five Lusk built and covered their new patio space so patrons could comfortably enjoy the breathtaking views of San Francisco.

Sidewalk

Café Diplomatico, one of Toronto’s most authentic Italian’ restaurants, failed to provide adequate protection from the elements for its customers. Driven by the need to ensure their patrons on the patio didn’t leave because of sun/rain exposure, they added a custom-built aluminum structure with four retractable canopies, rain gutters, and glass railings. Fresh Restaurant took advantage of the wide streetscape and built a covered sidewalk patio to accommodate over 50 patrons.

By adding dynamic shade, you can get more use out of your outdoor space over the year, cater to your customers’ needs and enhance the overall ambiance of your business. In addition to enriching your customers’ experiences, your new space is sure to provide you with a high return on investment.

Let us help you with your project today.