Outdoor Dining Ideas for Restaurant: Dos and Don’ts for the Hot Season

Once the weather warms up a bit, clients start going out a lot more and they have a main quest: find a restaurant with outdoor seating that will allow them to enjoy the sun and do some people-watching.

Do you have an outdoor area and is it prepared for the hot season? In this article, you will find various outdoor dining ideas for your restaurant that will help you attract customers and increase your profit.

Why You Should Have a Restaurant Outdoor Seating Area

Adding an outdoor dining area for your restaurant is not done overnight. It requires some effort to organize the new space, get the permits, and decorate it to create a welcoming environment.

But it will be worth the time and money you put in as these are the benefits of implementing outdoor dining ideas for your restaurant:

• Increase awareness for your restaurant: an outdoor seating area for your customers can not be missed as everyone who passes your location will notice it and be tempted to take a seat. You can also advertise your new outdoor place on social media to reach a new audience;
• Attract new customers: a new outdoor area can be a great selling point for clients looking for a food business. Being in the open air and enjoying the sunshine are great incentives for potential customers;
• Get more loyal clients: when you cater to people’s preference to dine outside in the hot season, you show them you care about their experience and persuade them to come back time and time again;
• Increase your profit: as you increase your serving space, you will get more orders and make more money.

Read more: How to Boost Restaurant Sales During Patio Season

Outdoor Dining Ideas for Your Restaurant

If you are looking for outdoor dining ideas for your restaurant that will help you increase revenue, you are in the right spot. Check out our suggestions:

1. Do: Get all the necessary permits to expand your restaurant outside

Not sticking to the local regulations can get you fined or in the worst case, even closed. Don’t risk your source of profit and ensure you have all the necessary permits before you expand outside.

Especially if you don’t own the outdoor space, check out the laws and regulations regarding using the sidewalk as your patio. Don’t forget to also:

• Consider restaurant accessibility: you want to create an inclusive environment where everyone can enjoy your delicious food;
• Don’t obstruct essential areas: such as sidewalks or crossings because you don’t want to disrupt people who pass by, you want to invite them in.

Read more: How to Improve Restaurant Accessibility for a Better Customer Experience

2. Do: Use plants to create an oasis

If you are looking for small restaurant patio ideas, plants are your go-to. No matter the size of your outdoor area, plants create a much-appreciated green atmosphere and provide intimacy without taking up much space.

Use these tips to pick plants and decorate your space with them:

• Consider aromatics: marry beauty and utility by growing plants you can use in your cooking. Some great options are rosemary, basil, thyme, and sage.
• Create a green wall around your outdoor dining space: if you want to separate the space from the traffic of the sidewalk, use big plants around your tables;
• Don’t use fake plants: not only do they not have the same effect as real ones, but they are also attracting a lot of dust and can be a chore to clean;
• Choose plants that fare well in heat: big plants can be a big investment and you don’t want to keep replacing them because they don’t fare well. Ask for advice at your local plant store to choose plants that will withstand heat with no problem;
• Create a watering schedule: ensure you give your employees the responsibility to water the plants, so they keep looking green and fresh. Don’t forget to motivate them with a bonus for the added task.

Read more: 10 Restaurant Employee Benefits That Keep Service Staff Happy

3. Do: Add an accent wall

If you are looking for outdoor dining ideas for a restaurant that will make you go viral on social media, consider adding an accent wall. It will provide the perfect backdrop for people who want to immortalize their diners.

If you have the space, contact local artists and allow them to paint a mural that depicts your restaurant’s values and type of cuisine. This will help you create a stronger bond with your community.

Read more: 10 Community Outreach Ideas for Restaurants to Attract Locals

4. Do: Make it easy for clients to order

When you add new tables, you increase your employees’ workload and risk not giving each customer the attention they deserve. You could hire new staff, but that might drive up your labor costs and not be profitable in the long run.

Instead, rely on technology to make your team’s jobs easier and make the ordering process fast and easy for clients. For example, you can get a free QR code restaurant menu from GloriaFood that clients will scan and reach your menu instantly.

You can also enable them to order for dine-in when they browse the menu so your servers can focus on more important tasks, like entertaining the guests and ensuring all their needs are met.

5. Do: Provide mood lightning

You surely put a lot of effort into creating a lightning scheme for your restaurant’s interior that shines a great light on your food and makes the atmosphere pleasant. Why not use the same attention to details on the outside?

Consider fairy lights above the restaurant’s outdoor space so they won’t get in the customers’ or servers’ way while creating a magical feeling. You can also add electric candles on each table for a plus of light without the risk of fires.

6. Do: Weatherproof your outside area

You can’t control the weather; you can only prepare for it. There will be rain, wind, and blazing heat that may render your outside space unusable for some time. However, one of the best outdoor dining ideas for a restaurant is to weatherproof the patio space.

If you do so, you will be able to serve clients most of the time, increasing your profit in the process. Here are some things to consider:

• Add a pergola with a retractable roof: if you choose a strong material such as colorbond, it will provide shelter for your space for both rain and sun.
• Use umbrellas: a must for the lunch hour when the sun is too strong to have an enjoyable meal outside if you are not in the shade;
• Provide blankets: if the temperatures drop considerably in the evening, provide some blankets for your customers, so they can keep warm and keep ordering;
• Consider sprinklers: if you are in a very warm climate with unbearable heat waves, add some fine mist sprinklers to keep your guests cool.

7. Do: Offer your outdoor dining area for events

Organizing events at your restaurant can be a great way to reach a new audience and win over some new clients. On top of the classic live music, consider offering up your outside dining area for hire.

People will pay you heftily to organize their parties in your space because they get to enjoy great food and already-prepared drinks with no effort on their part.

Read more: 15 Restaurant Event Ideas to Get Customers Through the Door

8. Don’t: Add industrial white light fixtures

People are bound to spend time in your outside space even after the sun goes down. You can’t rely on the sidewalk lightning and hope no accidents happen when people can barely see where they are walking.

Avoid white lights because they create a sterile atmosphere that makes people uncomfortable. Go for creative, warm lights, that invite people to spend more time at your restaurant.

9. Don’t: Crowd your space with tables

When you are looking for outdoor dining ideas for a restaurant, you can easily be tempted to fill your space with side-by-side tables to maximize the number of clients. But doing so creates an ideal situation for accidents because people won’t be able to comfortably walk around.

Furthermore, clients like to have their intimacy and not be able to hear word for word the discussion from the table that is extremely close to them. If you want to prevent negative reviews, provide at least a meter between tables.

10. Don’t: Use flimsy, not-durable furniture

You surely have a budget for maintenance, but do you want to spend it all replacing poorly made outside furniture? On top of the usual wear and tear, the chairs and tables placed outside have to withstand the scorching sun and a big change in temperature from night to day.

Invest in quality durable pieces of furniture that are also comfortable. If clients have a great time at your place, they will stay longer and order more.

11. Don’t: Ignore the outdoor area in less-than-perfect weather

The weather changes constantly, it can go from sunny to pouring rain in a matter of minutes. Just because the forecast predicts a rainy day, it doesn’t mean you should give up on your outdoor space for the day.

Instead, delegate an employee to look over the patio so you can still serve customers by:

• Wiping down chairs and tables immediately after the rain stops so clients can sit down and enjoy their food;
• Switch around umbrellas to create shade for as much of the seating area as possible.

12. Don’t: Keep your new outdoor seating a secret

You’ve just put in a lot of effort to create an impressive outdoor area, but how will clients know about it? One of the best outdoor dining ideas for a restaurant is to market your patio space by:

• Adding an announcement on your website: if you get the sales and SEO-optimized restaurant website from GloriaFood, you will rank high in searches and clients will find out faster about your new space;
• Add photos on your Google Business Profile: this way, when people search for a place to eat, they will be incentivized by your amazing outdoor space;
• Post about it on social media: create posts with attractive images and invite people to book a table on your patio. You can even offer a promotion for 15% off the whole order for the first 50 people to visit your outdoor dining area. You can set up promotions in seconds with GloriaFood:

13. Don’t: Forget about pest prevention

Bugs and birds are inevitable when you create a restaurant outside dining area. But you must not let them prevent customers from having an enjoyable experience at your place. Here is what you can do to maintain the space sanitary:

• Clean tables and floors constantly: crumbs left too long can immediately attract ants, so ensure you wipe and vacuum the space as often as you can;
• Don’t leave utensils and dishes out too long: if bugs get on them, it will be off-putting for customers;
• Add fans: airflow will cool the place and deter insects;
• Use natural bug repellents: especially along humid zones and among plants.

Final Words

Implement the above outdoor dining ideas for your restaurant if you want to attract more customers and increase your revenue. You can always rely on technology to make the expansion easier for you and the experience more pleasant for your clients.