Banquette seating (Or Fixed Seating, as it is also known) is one of the most expansive options for commercial furniture, but comes with many benefits and remains to be one of the most popular forms of seating. It is far more likely that in a half empty restaurant the booth seating will be prioritised by patrons over standalone tables and chairs, being very popular amongst courting couples and small groups of friends.
The reason many patrons choose booths will vary from person to person. Trying to understand this thought process can be an important aspect of furnishing your new restaurant. Being savvy with your choice of booth and its position in the room can help restaurateurs select booths that are most likely to appeal to their clientele.
Traffic
One of the greatest appeals of restaurant banquette seating is the significantly reduced traffic around the booth. Thinking about the location of your booth can be key. Situating your booth on the outskirts of the room backing onto the walls minimises the amount of traffic circulating the booth. Unless also situated towards the sides of the room, traffic tends to move around all 4 sides of tables and chairs and can be an annoyance for dining guests. If you guests are seating in booths they tend to be largely exempt from this, making their experience more comfortable.
Comfort
Booths are almost certainly more comfortable than many other seating options, padded seats and backs provide prolonged comfort for your guests with the added advantage of having more room available to them over standard chairs and tables. Depending on the type of food your restaurant supplies the added space of a booth can be very beneficial to diners increasing the comfort of their stay. As fixed seating can be made by Forest Sofa to be whatever shape or size you require, it can be a great way to keep larger (perhaps noisier) groups of people away from your other patrons, and saves time organising tables and chairs each time you have a larger booking.
Privacy
Privacy is an important factor when designing your new banquette seating. Whether your restaurant serves fast food or is an up-market fine dining experience, people like their privacy. You should aim to have your bench height at roughly 36 inches, which will provide good support for your customers backs although going higher will provide your patrons with a lot more privacy. Increasing the height of your fixed seating also helps to isolate noise coming in and out of the booth.
Features of Banquette Seating
Once you understand the reasons why booths are important for you restaurant, and how you can use them to maximise the success of your business you can start to think about the features you want your booths to have. Forest Contract offers a wide variety of fixed seating options with each one being individually made with bespoke measurements to suit your venue layout.
Add character and flare to your restaurant with our ‘Radial Booths’ or perhaps give your venue a vintage look with our ‘Deep Buttoned Back’ booths. ‘Radial or ‘Radius’ booths are a great way to make use of the corners throughout your restaurant
