Restaurant street seating is highly popular in NYC, and it’s going to be coming back next summer. Here are 4 upgrades you can make to restaurant dividers and barriers that businesses are sure to love.

On June 18, NYC issued guidelines for restaurants to provide safe outdoor seating as part of the Open Restaurants Program. These guidelines allowed restaurants to provide street seating in front of their business, provided they fulfill certain conditions.

This program proved to be highly popular. As a result, Mayor de Blasio announced on August 3 that the Open Restaurants Program will be instituted permanently as a yearly summer tradition.

What does this mean for you?

Lots of opportunity, like improving barriers and dividers

But first, what do we mean by barriers and dividers?

Barriers: One of the requirements for street seating are barriers that enclose the seating area. These barriers must be between 30”-36” in height and 18” deep.

(Barriers must have reflective tape facing traffic for safety, check out our reflective vinyl here)

The primary purpose of these barriers is to protect restaurant patrons from motor traffic, but that shouldn’t stop you from viewing them as a creative canvas, as we’ll explain further.

Dividers: Quite simply, these are pieces of furniture designed to separate between tables, or to delineate the restaurant seating boundaries on the sidewalk. Usually consists of fabric or wood, with a clear window section.

How can you improve on these?

Being that outdoor seating is going to be a permanent summer deal, restaurant owners will want to design and upgrade their outdoor furniture to last from year to year.

View Open Retaurants Guidelines.

Here are the top 4 upgrades you can make:
  1. Collapsibility/Storability



    Let’s face it, nobody wants the hassle of storing big bulky barriers the entire year. So, they can either just deal with it by finding the space, disassemble them, or dispose of them—because they were only meant to be temporary.

    Make dividers with removeable feet for easy storage.

    That makes collapsibility the single biggest upgrade you can make to safety barriers. There are many ways this can be done, and we’re not going to limit your creativity.

    Some inspiration, though, can be drawn from cardboard boxes, where they can be stacked within each other.

    Another method is to install hinges in a metal framed barrier. Point is, get them as flat as a pancake for easy stacking. However you choose to do this, collapsible barriers are a sure-fire win.

    For sidewalk dividers, collapsibility is as easy as fabricating them with removable feet.

     

     

  2. Branding



    Street barriers are a highly visible blank canvas, why in the world should that space be wasted?

    No matter how the barrier itself is constructed, it can and should be easily branded.

    So, what are the options?

    Banners are one way to do it, but these are more of a temporary solution. Remember that permanence is our goal here.

    Metal backed fabric can be painted or decorated with digital media or cut vinyl. Another option is direct printing. PVC can be branded with direct printing, cut vinyl, or digital media. Acrylic can be routed or decorated with the above options.

    With wood being an exceedingly popular choice (just take a stroll around the hot dining locations in NYC,) a restaurant’s brand can be carved into their wooden barriers or dividers using a router.

    The best part is that branding can be incorporated into barriers and dividers as an integral part of their construction, which brings us to our next point:

     

  3. Construction upgrades



    Lots of barriers were hastily put together out of whatever materials restaurant owners could get their hands on.

    But now that these barriers need to last, sign and awning makers can apply their techniques to create barriers designed to last and stand out.

    Examples include using wood, PVC, acrylic, or even metal backed fabric. All of these offer great lasting customization options, such as routing, direct printing, cut vinyl, or digital media. Go wild!

     

     

  4. Lighting



    What’s a great setup worth if it won’t stand out at night?

    That’s where lighting comes in. Barriers and dividers can be spruced up in a number of ways:

    Underglow: Typically seen on souped-up cars, underglow is fitting for the street seating scene. It’s sure to grab attention from passersby.

    Accent lighting: Placing hidden LEDs inside the top edge of barriers is a great way to create a pleasant ambience.

    In other words, restaurant bar lighting techniques are a perfect fit for outdoor dividers and barricades.

    Brand/logo lighting: Arguably the most important kind of lighting, make a restaurant stand out by illuminating their logo and branding. Here’s a great idea: Route a logo or lettering in wood, PVC, or acrylic barriers, and light it from the inside for a beautiful effect.

    Would you like some lighting advice? Speak to your sales rep about our selection of monochrome LEDs.

With the fastest delivery in the industry and unbeatable customer service, S&F Supplies is proud to be your source for all your sign and awning making needs.

Just contact your sales rep and we'll be glad to help you.

Want some other great ideas? Check out our Back to School Buyer's Guide for plenty more!

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