Cafe chairs

Every shop needs more chairs than it first thinks. This department holds 467 of them, from plain metal cafe chairs to padded wood chairs with arms and patio chairs for the pavement. Settle one question before any finish or color: will the chair stay inside all year, or will it spend part of the year out front?

Inside, outside or both

Most of the range is indoor seating. A good share is listed for patio use as well, and a few of those carry a covered-patio-only note, which means under the awning and never out in open rain. Indoor chairs with wood frames or padded seats do not belong outside at all: sun and damp fade them, swell them or rust them, and no warranty claim will pay for the damage. The outdoor chairs group pulls the patio-ready ones together.

Frame first, then the seat

Metal frames are the biggest group, followed by wood and aluminum, some of it with a wood-look finish, and then resin and steel. Each one answers a different kind of shop:

• Metal chairs for the counter-service room that gets bumped all day.
• Wood chairs for a warmer room and the bakery look.
• Aluminum chairs when staff lift every chair onto a table at night.
• Stacking chairs when a back room has to clear for a party.

The seat comes next. Vinyl leads, fabric follows, and hard wood, bare metal, faux rattan and plastic teak cover the rest. A padded seat keeps people longer. A hard one turns tables. Neither is wrong; it depends on whether you sell a quick roll at the counter or a slow lunch by the window.

How many to order

Count tables, not square feet. A two-seat table at the window takes two chairs and a 36-inch square takes four, while the big 48-inch round in the corner wants five, or six if they are friends. Then add a few spares, because a chair always cracks or walks off during a busy month, and a replacement from the same line keeps the room even. Leave 18 to 24 inches behind each chair so it pulls out without hitting the next, and about 36 inches for the service aisle.

Prices start around $26 for a folding chair and climb from there. An order needs at least eight pieces counted across chairs and tables together, which even a small refit clears.

Lay the room out on a shop plan first: tables, chairs and the walk from the door to the till. When you open the next shop, copy the plan and change only what the new floor demands.