How to Boost Your Cafe Profits by Changing the Interior Layout

When you're furnishing your cafe, the main thing on your mind is probably the furniture itself. While selecting the right chairs and tables is essential to the success of your eatery, so is another more neglected aspect of furnishing: the layout. A cafe that's poorly laid out will almost certainly be leaving money on the table. Whether you're just opening up or you're purchasing new cafe furniture, here are 3 ways the positioning of your chairs and tables could boost your profits.

Increase Capacity with Rearranged Table Sizes

How many chairs should you have around each table? 2, 4, more, or a mixture? Many cafe owners pair up chairs and tables as they see fit, without thinking about the effect this has on patronage. The number of people each table can seat should be tailored to the cafe in question. For example, if you run a cafe situated near office blocks and many of your patrons are professionals looking for a quick lunch or breakfast, you shouldn't have too many tables that seat large groups. Likewise, if your cafe is next to a park but all your tables seat 2 to 3 people, the large families who visit the area daily won't bother trying to get a seat there. Think about the average party size at your cafe and arrange tables and chairs accordingly.

Increase Service Speed with Bigger Walkways

Speaking of increasing capacity, you may think that packing your cafe with as many tables and chairs as possible will make you more money. In reality, this is false. Aside from the fact that people don't like to be cramped, having tiny walkways between tables will reduce service speed. If waitresses have to manoeuvre cups and plates through a narrow maze, this prolongs the time it takes for each customer to eat and leave. Even if your cafe is largely "self-service", patrons shouldn't have to spend too long simply navigating to their seat. In order to keep the flow of customers as speedy as possible, make sure there's more than enough walk space between seating.

Increase Spending with Wall Seating

Did you know that booth seating is proven to bring in more revenue? Even if your cafe doesn't have booths like a restaurant, you can create the same effect by anchoring some of your tables and chairs to walls. This creates a more exclusive, private and comfortable feel for customers, encouraging them to stay longer and spend more.