Pro terrace furniture: aesthetics and durability
A well-appointed terrace can represent up to 30% of a restaurant's turnover. However, the choice of outdoor furniture often remains a frustrating compromise between resistance, aesthetics and budget. What if the right compromise wasn't one?
The challenges of professional outdoor furniture
A café or restaurant terrace undergoes harsh treatment: sun, rain, wind, daily handling, stacking at the end of service. The furniture must resist UV rays without fading, humidity without rusting, shocks without deforming. It must also be light for staff who move it several times a day, and stackable for winter or nighttime storage.
Added to this are the ERP regulations (Establishments Receiving the Public) which impose security, stability and circulation standards. Professional terrace furniture is not garden furniture: it is a work tool as much as a decorative element.
Aluminium: the king of terrace material
Faced with these constraints, aluminum stands out as the most relevant material. It does not rust, does not deform in the heat, does not freeze to the touch in winter. It is naturally light (a third of the weight of steel) while offering excellent mechanical resistance. And above all, it is infinitely recyclable without loss of quality.
Emeco has been working with aluminum since 1944, when the American Navy ordered chairs capable of withstanding the salt water of submarines. Each Navy Chair is forged, welded and polished in 77 artisan steps. The result: a chair guaranteed for life, as comfortable on the deck of a yacht as on the terrace of a star hotel.
The example of the Magdalena Hotel
The Magdalena Hotel in Austin, Texas, designed by the Lake|Flato studio, has chosen to equip its outdoor spaces exclusively with Emeco. The 111 Navy Chair — made from 111 plastic bottles recovered from the oceans — equip the restaurant terrace and the pool area. The industrial aesthetic dialogues with the wood and concrete architecture of the hotel.
Stackability and logistics
Stackability is a criterion that non-professionals underestimate. At the end of a shift, putting away 40 chairs should take a few minutes, not half an hour. The Emeco models stack 6 to 8 heights without risk of scratches thanks to their protective pads. The saving in reserve space is considerable.
An investment, not an expense
The unit price of an Emeco chair is higher than that of a standard terrace chair. But over ten years – the average lifespan of a terrace – the calculation is reversed. A resin chair discolors in two summers, cracks in the third, and ends up in landfill in the fifth. A Navy Chair spanning three generations of owners at the Felix Restaurant in Sydney is still in use. This is the very definition of sustainable furniture.
Equip your terrace with furniture that lasts
Discover our selection of Emeco chairs in recycled aluminum: Navy Chair original, 111 Navy Chair recycled, 1 Inch Reclaimed and Broom Chair.