If all goes to plan we’ll see a return to al fresco dining from mid-April. So it’s déjà vu for the UK’s pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels as we begin to count down the days to the end of lockdown.

The long winter lockdown has taken a toll and we know that people are more than ready to get back to normal life. So it’s not surprising to hear that British pubs with outdoor dining areas were ‘deluged with bookings’ following the government’s announcement of the potential roadmap to re-opening businesses.

With all this pent up demand from customers, it’s the perfect time to do an audit of your outdoor dining area. After all, the winter months are bound to have taken a toll on your outdoor furniture too. So why not invest in new commercial outdoor furniture that will create a fresh new look and a truly welcoming environment to satisfy expected demand?

Warner Contracts Ltd is ready to help guide you through the many options available. This blog post aims to provide some suggestions for outdoor furniture that will ensure your customers are sitting comfortably this summer.

For pubs we have a range of hard-wearing options from rustic wooden picnic benches to stylish rattan-look sofas and dining sets. And for cafes, restaurants and hotels, we have some attractive yet practical furniture that will add a dash of European street-style to any outdoor patio or pavement dining areas.

 Outdoor Furniture for Pub Beer Gardens

Sipping a pint and tucking into a hearty pub lunch is a quintessential English tradition. And that tradition includes the wooden picnic tables and benches that can seat families or a groups of friends – socially distanced, of course!

Our Beer Garden Bench  offers fantastic value and is manufactured with sustainably sourced, FSC-rated and treated pine that can withstand the rigours of the British climate. We stock 4, 6 and 8-seater sizes.

Alternatively, our Round Beer Garden Tables offer a more substantial dining option for picnic areas and pub beer gardens. They are also manufactured from pre-treated, FSC- rated timber, plus you have the option of installing a table umbrella for those hot, sunny days.

For a more contemporary look, we would suggest our Parma Stacking Sofas and matching Parma Stacking Tub Chairs. These lightweight yet sturdy sofas and chairs have an aluminium frame covered with an extremely durable and low maintenance flat weave polyethylene (PE) material. They are easy to move around and can be stacked for easy storage. Just add throw cushions for a splash of colour.

 Stylish, Relaxed Dining for Pubs, Bistros and Restaurants

A more sophisticated dining option is our stylish Al Fresco Rattan Dining Set which combines modern materials with the classic styling of Lloyd Loom furniture. The set is strong yet lightweight thanks to its aluminium frame. And the woven synthetic rattan is fully UV and weather resistant. This attractive yet hard-wearing set comprises four chairs and a round dining table with a glass top.

Another great dining combination is our Madrid range. We’ve recently added the Madrid Outdoor Dining Chair and Madrid Outdoor Table to complement our Madrid Outdoor Armchair.

The Madrid table and the frame of the Madrid chairs is made from sturdy yet lightweight aluminium covered in an attractive epoxy protective coating (EPC). You have a choice of two EPC finishes – contemporary grey or natural.

The Madrid chairs’ both feature a strong woven seat made from waterproof polypropylene (PL) rope and an attractive curved seat back featuring a stylish ‘loom-like’ design. Fully weather and UV-proof, the Madrid range is also easy to keep clean and the chairs stack up to three high.

Another great combination for commercial dining is our Parma Outdoor Chair and Parma Stacking Outdoor Armchair matched with our Genoa Large Table or Genoa Square Table.

Like the Parma sofa and tub chair, our stackable Parma dining chairs are designed to endure the British weather and still retain their good looks. They feature the same strong yet lightweight aluminium frame and a comfortable, low maintenance flat weave PE seat.

And our Genoa tables are a perfect match as they feature the same flat weave PE rattan-effect on the legs and table edges. The PE table surfaces have an attractive and hard-wearing slatted-look decorative finish.

Contemporary Chic for Courtyard dining

If people can’t travel to their favourite holiday resorts why not bring a dash of European élan them?

We have some great new side chairs and matching armchairs that wouldn’t look out of place outside a French cafe or bistro.

Take our stylish Lille Stacking Outdoor Chairs and matching Lille Stacking Outdoor Armchairs for example. They feature a traditional spoon back design which evokes the traditional bentwood style that French bistros love. These chairs, though, are made from vinyl-wrapped aluminium and have a hard-wearing, weatherproof poly rattan weave seat and seat back. Two colour finishes are available: natural cane and a cool matt grey.

Our new Lyon Stacking Outdoor Side Chairs and Lyon Stacking Outdoor Armchairs   offer a contemporary take on the classic French bistro chair. These versatile chairs are fully weatherproof, stackable and look good in a variety of settings. They are manufactured from black powder coated aluminium and feature a mesh seat and seat back.

Why not match these French-style chairs with our eye-catching new Marine Dining Tables? We stock Rectangular and Square versions as well as poseur tables.

These robust tables are purpose-designed for outdoor commercial use and feature a black powder-coated steel frame and an extremely durable and low maintenance compact laminate table top. The decorative azure blue finish provides an attractive dining surface.

 Chairs for Cafe Gardens and Pavements

Sometimes all you need are good, solid chairs that will put up with constant heavy commercial use, stay looking good and are easy to clean and pack away.

We have added some dependable but great-looking chairs that do exactly that. Latest additions include:

Image of Harper chair

• Harper Stacking Armchair – The Harper has a contemporary design that will suit most venues. Its black powder coated steel frame supports a stylish dark grey PL rattan-look seat and seat back. You can stack these chairs up to 8 high for easy storage.

Carmen Outdoor Stacking Armchairs – Featuring a modern take on a classic industrial design, the Carmen is a robust bistro chair that will look good anywhere. It’s made from black powder-coated steel and will stack up to 4 high.

Richmond Stacking Outdoor Side Chair – The Richmond is a versatile chair that can be mix and matched with a wide range of dining chairs and tables. It’s rattan-look weave is made from weatherproof fibreglass reinforced resin.

 Perennial Favourites

Sometimes you can’t beat a classic – and we’d put our Matilda Outdoor Chair and Armchair in this bracket. Available in a great range of colours, Matilda chairs help create a fun and friendly vibe outside cafes and bars. Made with an extremely durable yet comfortable fibreglass reinforced polyproplyene shell, they can also be stacked up to 4 high – using the handy cut-aways on the side of the shell.

Talk to us About Your Outdoor Furniture Needs

We hope we’ve got you thinking about how you can refresh your outdoor dining space. Warner Contracts Ltd has a huge range of contract quality furniture which can be ordered directly via our website.

If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for then give our expert sales team a call on 0161 408 2390 or email sales@warnercontracts.com. Our friendly team will help you identify the right furniture to suit your venue and customers.

Discounts are available on bulk orders and, as most of our stock is UK-sourced, our standard delivery time is just 1-3 working days. For faster turn-arounds we offer an express 24-hour service for an extra fee.

Photo credit: bbc.co.uk_PA Media

Since the lockdown measures were eased in the summer cafes, bars and restaurants have had to radically change the way they do business to ensure customers and staff are kept safe.

One-way systems, hand sanitiser stations, collecting customer contact details, staff wearing masks, and ordering and paying via apps has become the ‘new normal’ when dining out.

With restrictions on the number of household groups and social bubbles being able to meet, many venues have moved away from offering communal dining experiences. And with social distancing rules still in place, venues have also had to look at operating with fewer tables.

Warner Contract Furniture offers a great range of commercial furniture for the hospitality trade, including many bespoke options to help venues maintain a design theme.

This blog post takes a look at how our contract furniture range can help commercial venues keep their businesses operating safely, while still keeping their overall design look. Don’t forget to call our friendly and expert team to discuss your specific needs.

Indoor Commercial Furniture

There’s little doubt that indoor dining presents greater risks to staff and customers – mainly due to poor ventilation and difficulties in maintaining adequate social distancing.

In response to this, many venues have removed tables to create more space and need to balance hygiene and safety with the need to run a profitable business.

Others have opted for smaller tables that can offer more flexibility – you can simply move two together to accommodate a household, or store them away to create greater space.

Hospitality furniture must be versatile. Venues need hard-wearing and easy to clean furniture that offers customers a comfortable and safe dining experience.

So – here are some ideas from our range of furniture;

Laminate Table Tops

We’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating – laminate table tops are the hardest working items of commercial furniture.

Because they are scratch and heat resistant, our HPL table tops retain their looks even with heavy use. And because they are water and chemical resistant, they are incredibly easy to keep clean and hygienic.

Our range of laminate table tops includes standard sizes in round, square and rectangular shapes and are supplied with ABS anti-chip edges. We stock a huge range of decorative and colour finishes so you can find the best fit for your interior design and style. Online ordering is easy and you can expect delivery within 1-5 days.

We also offer a range of fully bespoke laminate tops to help customers create customised items to match their interiors. We offer hundreds of different laminate decors and can make the table tops to your custom size, shape and thickness. Once ordered, we can deliver bespoke items in 3 – 4 weeks and a fitting service is available when required.

Versatile Table Bases

To complete the look, we offer a great range of table bases. Choose from round or square bases and profiles as well as a variety of different finishes including black powder coated and brushed stainless steel.

Our Braga Flip Top Table Base can accommodate 700mm round or square table tops and offers has a contemporary design. It offers great flexibility to venues which might need to change room layout frequently as the top can be easily flipped to vertical making them  make them easier to move around and store.

Great Value Indoor Seating

Simultaneously comfy yet easy to wipe down between sittings, our Sena Restaurant Chairs are a great choice for pub dining areas as well as cafes and restaurants.

We stock Sena chairs in cream, grey and brown which will suit most contemporary interiors. And the fully upholstered seat and seat back offers comfort and great styling with contract quality faux leather upholstery.

Other versatile dining chairs to consider include our Angel, Wave, and Burford side chairs which feature solid  hardwood frames and faux leather upholstery.

Making the Most of Outdoor Dining Space

Being able to provide outdoor dining has become a lifeline for many hospitality venues. Many have even worked closely with local councils to create dining patios on pavements or in car parks.

As we slide into the cooler autumn and winter months, this is likely to continue and venues may well have to invest in outdoor heaters.

We have a great range of commercial outdoor furniture to choose from manufactured from contract quality treated hardwoods, cast iron, steel, and durable plastics.

Great Looking Outdoor Tables

Designed to withstand anything the British weather than throw at them, our range of quality outside dining tables includes three that are sold in kit form that are easy to assemble on site. All are ideally suited for outdoor areas of restaurants, cafes and bars.

Each table is manufactured with a black powder-coated steel frame containing an extremely durable, solid core laminate top that is scratch and water resistant. The Carrara features a high quality marble decorative finish, the Dunbar features a contemporary polished cement finish, and the Marden has a polished hardwood finish.

All three are available in square and rectangular dining and poseur options.

Outdoor Bench Seating

Bench seating is a great option for outdoor dining and drinking. Benches can accommodate members of a family or bubble – or can be divided with tape to provide social distancing for two separate households.

Our Brew Ezicare Bench is robust yet highly stylish and will blend in with a wide variety of furniture designs and exterior settings.

Another option is our Brew Outdoor Bench which features a black powder-coated frame and a woodgrain seat.

Lode Outdoor Chair

Our Lode Outdoor Cafe chair has a cool contemporary design and is also very easy to wipe down and disinfect. It is made using tough air-moulded polypropylene and will easily cope with heavy commercial use. And better still, it’s available in six colours including lime green and vibrant orange as well as black, white, grey and brown. At the end of the day they can be stacked for easy storage.

Let Us Help You

You are welcome to browse our extensive range of commercial furniture and order online direct from our website. However, we have a highly experienced and friendly sales team just waiting to help guide you through the best options for your venue’s requirements.

If you’re looking for a more customised solution then we can also help you. We have a growing range of bespoke contract furniture are we’re also very happy to work with your own supplied upholstery material.

Our standard delivery time is just 3-5 working days as we source the majority of our stock within the UK. We also offer an express service which delivers in just 24 hours. Bespoke goods can take between 2 and 8 weeks to deliver

Call us on 0161 408 2390 or email our sales department sales@warnercontracts.com to get a quote.

Quite rightly, the UK has been in lockdown since 23 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s clearly vital that we limit the spread of the virus and reduce the strain on the NHS. However, social distancing rules have meant the almost complete closure of the hospitality trade.

But there now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel as the government considers easing the lockdown in phases to get the economy back up and running.

 Post-Lockdown Furniture Requirements

We know that restaurants, cafes, pubs, nightclubs and leisure centres are likely to be among the last venues to re-open. However, those with outdoor spaces will probably be able to open earlier.

It will be essential to continue to protect staff and customers by maintaining a physical distance of 2 metres wherever possible. And additional hygiene practices will almost certainly be required. There will probably also be a need to erect protective transparent sneeze screens at the point of sale.

So, for outdoor areas you’ll need commercial furniture that can not only withstand the British weather, but can also help customers stay six feet apart. You’ll want furniture that is easy to move around and stack when not in use, and, importantly, quick and easy to clean/disinfect.

If you’re a pub with a beer garden, or a cafe with a courtyard, this might be a great time to assess whether your outdoor furniture will be fit for purpose this summer and autumn.

Warner Contract Furniture stocks a huge range of great-priced, high quality Commercial Outdoor Furniture for the UK leisure, hospitality and contract markets.

The Warner top six post-lockdown chairs and tables

This blog post highlights our top six outdoor chairs and tables that can help you get ready for whatever the ’new normal’ will be for the hospitality trade.

1. Budget Flip Top Dining Table Base

Our Budget Flip Top Dining Table Base is exactly as described in its name. It offers  fantastic value and is a versatile addition for outdoor commercial venues.

The flip top mechanism allows you to flip any table top to the vertical for easy storage. It’s great for small spaces as it’s simple to stack and easy to store. It’s also tougher than it looks as it is made from robust contract quality aluminium/steel (?). And it wipes clean quickly and easily.

These great value table bases will support small 700mm round or square table tops so can make provide perfect social distancing for single customers in small spaces.

You could pair the Budget Flip Top Table Base with …

 SM France Arizona Table Top

Outdoor tables have to withstand a lot. They have to put up wth hot sunshine, pouring rain and even frost. And then there is all the eating and drinking. Plates and cutlery, glasses, and spills can all take a toll.

The SM France Arizona Table Top offers a great-looking and cost-effective solution for outdoor dining and drinking areas. It’s on our list because it will withstand heavy use and constant cleaning yet still look good.

That’s because it’s made from a moulded resin laminate material and is fully sealed. It’s also UV-stabilised so won’t fade in direct sunlight.

4. Lode Outdoor Chairs

Outdoor chairs need to look good yet also be easy to maintain and store. And our Lode Outdoor Chairs fit the bill perfectly. Made in one stylish piece using air-moulding technology from hard-wearing polypropylene, they are strong and fully stackable. They make ideal chairs for use in the outside areas of cafes,  bistros, and bars and come in  white, black, grey, brown, lime green and orange.

5. Matilda Outdoor Chairs

The Matilda Outdoor Chair combines great looks and practicality. The contemporary design includes a curved shell seat made from hardwearing polypropylene reinforced with glass fibre. The Matilda chair is not only easy to keep clean, but it is fully stackable too.

There is a choice of black, green, red, white, yellow, grey and sand, so you should find an option to suit your space. We also offer matching Matilda Outdoor Armchairs.

6. Brew Outdoor Table

Our Brew Outdoor Table is a stylish alternative to the more traditional wooden Beer Garden Bench. It is manufactured with a sturdy pwder-coated steel frame supporting hard wearing teak slats. The frame comes in two colour options: silver and grey.

The Brew Table can be matched with the Brew Outdoor Bench. To encourage customers to maintain the required 2 m distance apart you can easily place markings at each end of the bench.

The Brew range also includes the Brew Outdoor Poseur Table and the Brew Outdoor High Stool.

How we can help

Warner Contract Furniture sources a broad and diverse range of commercial furniture to suit the needs of the hospitality industry. Our sales team have the know-how to help you find the best furnishing solution for your bar, cafe, restaurant, hotel or activity centre.

We are continually adding new products to our website but would love to hear from you if you can’t see exactly what you’re looking for. We have long-standing relationships with furniture manufacturers and an expert in-house team that will rise to the challenge.

Our standard delivery time is just 3-5 working days as most of our stock is sourced within the UK. We can deliver even faster for customers who are working against the clock.

Call our sales team today on 0161 408 2390 or email our sales department sales@warnercontracts.com. We are happy to discuss your requirements and give you a quotation.

With a wide variety of woods, colours, and patterns to choose from, it’s easy to see why HPL Laminate is a staple in our food and hospitality industries, laminate table tops are sturdy, and known for their antibacterial properties, so it’s important to keep those tables stain-free, and looking their best!

The surface is easy to clean, and should be cleaned regularly, they require minimal maintenance under normal use and conditions.
When cleaning is needed, more often than not, you can wipe the surface clean with a damp cloth using an all-purpose cleaner such as Dettol or Flash; the use of bleach and harsh cleaning chemicals, particularly those with abrasive properties may result in permanently dulling and scratching your laminate product.

Furniture polish and other wax based cleaning products should be avoided as these clog up the surface structure causing a sticky layer to form, attracting dirt.

For small spillages such as tea/coffee, then your best course of action is to use paper towels, as soon as possible, to absorb the liquid then wipe the area with a damp cloth, for more persistent stains, we recommend household cleaning agents such as Cif, Flash, or Mr Muscle.

More persistent stains such as ink and dyes can be removed by using a stronger detergent or glass cleaner, but the stain should be tackled as soon as possible or it could become permanent. Allow the cleaner to work for several minutes before blotting with a damp cloth and then rinsing. If the stain persists then nail polish remover or paint thinner may be used, this may take a few applications, and should be followed by the cleaning routing mentioned above.