Module 14: Facilities Planning: Seating Requirements

Lesson Objectives:
1. Name and describe the required facilities in planning a workplace;
2. Locate facilities in proper positions in the workplace;
3. Discuss the importance of facilities planning

Four important factors before opening or renovating your venue:

1. Understanding Business Regulations and Seating Capacity
Determine whether you’ll be using one or multiple rooms and then allocate all
available spaces before considering potential restaurant dining room design ideas. Contact
your local fire department or other government agency to inquire about these measurements
because their decision will be influenced by the number and size of exits available at your
venue.
According to the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers
(NAFEM), the following chart list is the average allotted square feet per customer by service
type.
TYPE OF OPERATION SPACE ALLOWANCE PER SEAT
School Lunchroom / Cafeteria 9 – 12 sq. ft.
Banquet Room 10 – 11 sq. ft.
Table Service (Minimum) 11 – 14 sq. ft.
College or Business and Industry Cafeteria 12 – 15 sq. ft.
Table Service at a Hotel, club, or Restaurant 15 – 18 sq. ft.
Commercial Cafeteria 16 – 18 sq. ft.
Counter Service Restaurant 18 – 20 sq. ft.
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires at least 36” wide aisles. Create
wider aisles to accommodate wheelchairs. Also, consider your venue’s need. Remember to be
flexible.
2. Choosing Furniture
Furniture Quality
The furniture you choose depends on the
type of restaurant you are working. Regardless of
your dining experience, do not sacrifice quality.
Your furniture is an investment; therefore, you
should avoid buying non-commercial furniture.
For quality sanitation, purchase tables,
chairs, and booths that can be easily wiped down
and cleaned. Plus, all fabric furniture should be
stained resistant and color fast. Also, consider
materials and fabric patterns that will complement
your décor and desired environment.

Additional Information:
How can we check if the furniture is quality?
Upholstered Furniture The most important indicator of good upholstery is comfort.
Test this by sitting on a piece for a few minutes. Then check
the underlying construction and ask the retailer for a
manufacturer’s catalog or other materials to figure out what’s
inside.

Frame Arms should not wobble.

Sofa frames should be rigid, and not creak or sag when you
lift one corner off the floor.

Cushions Top furniture cushions are filled with solid pieces of high-
density foam, but springs, down, and synthetics are also good.
Avoid cushions filled with shredded foam; they won’t retain
their shape.

Springs and Padding The entire frame should be covered with padding, meaning no
hard corners during your sit test. There shouldn’t be any
lumps or bumps either. Quality padding improves upholstered
pieces’ appearance and comfort, and greatly reduces wear.

Case Goods It is somewhat easier to judge the quality of case goods than
of upholstered items because you can see how they’re
constructed.

Drawers Side and back panels of drawers should be made of wood at

least a half-inch thick.
 Doors, Top Lids, and Flip Doors and other hinged pieces should swing smoothly and
Tops quietly, close easily, and latch snugly.
Insides of doors should be finished.

Inset glass panels should fit tightly so they don’t rattle.

Legs Furniture should not wobble or rock.

In high-quality chairs, the arm and leg or back and leg are
often made out of a continuous piece of wood. Legs are
stronger if they’re built into the frame, too.

Furniture Shape
Furniture shape can also affect your customers’
dining experience. Round tables encourage
conversation, but square or rectangular tables are
space efficient. However, for cafeterias or fast casual
venues, you’ll need to consider tray size.
Many venues have added two-person tables, as
they are perfect for dining couples and prevent leaving
two empty seats at a four-person table or booth.

Clean, geometric forms Ranging from straight-backed sofas to square-edged tables,

furniture designs in geometric form slip easily into any home,
creating an excitedly chic setup or freshening up the old.

Soft, curvy forms If you have ever wondered why sweeping contours, arched
forms, and scalloped edges have followed us through the ages
the answer is simple; curved silhouettes lend an innate gentleness
that infuses a more relaxed and cozier feel

Asymmetric forms When designing our homes, we tend to have a natural inclination
toward attaining a sense of order. While comforting, relying
solely on symmetry, particularly when selecting modern living
room furniture, often leads to a formulaic space.
Furniture Style
When brainstorming dining room design ideas, consider the two different styles of furniture:
Anchored and Portable.
Anchored seating refers to any furniture attached to the wall or floor. Portable
tables and chairs can be placed anywhere, commonly referred to as “floating tables”. There
are benefits to both styles; however, the best approach for a high-revenue business is a
balanced combination of booths, as well as large and small tables.
According to NAFEM, a minimum of 5% of total seating should be accessible to those in a
wheelchair. This can be accomplished through both styles and furniture depending on table
height.
Anchored Booth

PROS CONS
 Allow optimal leg roof  Cannot be easily renovated
 Fill nooks and spaces between  May not accommodate larger or
columns elderly guests
 Space-efficient and can  Guests are more likely to linger at
accommodate more people for anchored seating, minimizing table
higher profits during peak hours turnover
 Create a secluded dining area

Portable Tables and Chairs

PROS CONS
 Allows mobility to accommodate  Not as space-efficient as anchored
large parties or easy movement booths
during renovations  Table bas can constrict guests’ leg
 Guests are less likely to mingle, room
creating a high table turnover and  Table tops and chairs may rock due
more profit per table to uneven or broken legs or bases
 Accommodate larger and elderly
guests
3. Deciding on a Room Layout
Before beginning your restaurant dining room design, decide whether you want one
open space or several smaller rooms. Some restaurant styles may excel with one large room,
while others need additional dining areas to accommodate private parties.
Multiple Rooms

PROS CONS
 Easier to anchor tables for consistent  Potentially more challenging for
restaurant seating layout wait staff to navigate or hosts to
 Perfect for positioning tables along gauge available tables
walls or windows  May be less likely to accommodate
 Allow for room décor themes or very large parties or events
customization  Permanent walls limit future
 Create private dining options with renovations
controlled volume
 Option to host private parties in a
secluded room with controlled
volume

Open Rooms

CONS
PROS
 Ideal for portable tables, away from  Can become a loud environment, not
fixtures and walls conductive for conversation
 Anchored seating possible against  Decor and ambiance could be lost in
walls, windows, or columns the large room
 Enable customers to enjoy the entire  Could create aisle traffic, making it
 room, visually and acoustically difficult for wait staff to navigate
 Can accommodate very large parties
 Temporary partitions or dividers on
casters can break up room as needed

Bar Setting
If your venue has a bar, you need to leave
sufficient room for furniture and patrons. Here
are a few considerations:
 Allot a strip of floor space along the bar,
ranging 3 ½’ to 4’ wide, for barstools and
potential guests
 Leave 2’ per barstool
 Divide the bar length by 2 to see how
many barstools you can fit comfortably
 Remember to leave a comfortable amount
of space between the bar and tables – at
least the width of your aisle

4. Creating an Overall Experience

Prior to opening your restaurant, sit in every seat to learn about potential customer
complaints. As you try different seats, you may notice a direct view into the kitchen, poor
restaurant lighting, or a draft from the front door that impacts your restaurant floor plan. If
you realize these concerns before opening, you’re more capable of revising your restaurant
dining room design and minimizing your amount of unhappy customers.