Outdoor Dining

Embrace the Outdoors

After the almost two years we’ve had, there’s nothing more appealing for customers than outdoor restaurant dining, from the people watching to the fresh air. While the pandemic has forced many establishments to embrace outdoor dining where they hadn’t before, this is a trend that is here to stay, and not just in the summer season, but all year long.

Outside space can also be a great investment, some experts say restaurants that add outdoor dining spaces can add as much as 30 percent to their revenue. Here are some of the hot outdoor trends for 2021 and beyond.

OUTDOOR SEATING

Many restaurants and cafés have made outdoor seating work even in the smallest spaces. In New York City, where real estate is very small, restaurants even launched the Open Restaurants program, which now permanently allows for outdoor dining year-round on the city sidewalks and portions of streets outside of restaurants.

Regional councils here in New Zealand need to implement a similar programme here, where the current restrictions about pavement seating could be relaxed to allow more restaurants to offer outdoor dinging, particularly with summer fast approaching.

Remember, outdoor spaces don’t have to be all wicker and wrought iron. More and more, restaurants are investing in inviting, durable outdoor furniture including comfort elements like umbrellas and space heaters. Guests like to feel like they’re getting the same experience outdoors as they would be inside

MULTI-SEASON STRUCTURES

Restaurants have pushed the boundaries and created dining setups that they had never used before. Now that they have put the time, money, and resources into creating these spaces, they may as well stick around even after the pandemic is over. Restaurants with motorised awnings or screens overhead are able to open and close them depending on the weather conditions. Space heaters will likely still be key when there are some chilly nights as well.

Regardless of which route a restaurant has gone to prepare for the past year, they most likely can continue the same setup into 2022 with these multi-season structures.

OUTDOOR EVENTS

Events are making a comeback and with the warm weather returning and vaccines rolling out, the rest of 2022 will be great for outdoor events (fingers crossed). If your restaurant or venue already has the outdoor patio or event space for outdoor events, then you’re in luck. If you’ve transformed your space to accommodate more dining space, then maybe that area can also be transformed for an event setup. While there will still be capacity limits in play for a bit longer, restaurants and venues can get creative in order to get these events on the books. Play around with your room capacities and event flow. Groups are thinking about how they can celebrate the many missed occasions from the past year and a half, and they are looking for venues now.