{"id":971,"date":"2020-05-15T18:51:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T18:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/?p=971"},"modified":"2021-03-01T22:36:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T22:36:40","slug":"increase-capacity-outdoor-dining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/15\/increase-capacity-outdoor-dining\/","title":{"rendered":"Bring Your Service Outdoors To Increase Capacity By 25%"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/23\/team-spotlight-felicity-moore\/\">Felicity Moore<\/a>\u00a0|May 15, 2020<\/h6>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-973\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Photo-Concert-Tour-Facebook-Cover-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Restaurant Tips\" width=\"820\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Photo-Concert-Tour-Facebook-Cover-min.png 820w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Photo-Concert-Tour-Facebook-Cover-min-300x114.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Photo-Concert-Tour-Facebook-Cover-min-768x292.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Photo-Concert-Tour-Facebook-Cover-min-130x50.png 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1><b>Restaurants Serve Customers Outdoors To Increase Capacity<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As COVID-19 cases start to dwindle down restaurants are now permitted to open their dine-in service to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/restaurants-set-open-25-capacity-121301907.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">25%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> capacity. Officials believe that this way it can help restaurants start to regain operations after being restricted to carry-out and delivery services. However, there are customers who still don\u2019t feel comfortable to dine in an enclosed area because they\u2019re afraid of catching the virus. Restaurants are taking this into consideration by resorting to outdoor dining. By bringing your restaurant service outside can bring benefits such as:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving you additional space to serve more customers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing your guests the option of sitting inside or outside<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allows you to have an exciting addition to your restaurant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1148\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Increase Capacity\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min.png 1500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min-300x200.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min-768x512.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min-1024x683.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Restaurant-pos-min-750x500.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As more restaurants start to open back up, learn more about how you can incorporate a safe outdoor dining experience for your customers by considering these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>1. Where should I have my outdoor seating?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Typically restaurants are only limited to two options of where they could place their outdoor seating:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On their lot\u2019s sidewalk or curb\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the backyard of their restaurant\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1149\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-pos-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Fast Casual Point of Sale\" width=\"1482\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-pos-min.png 1482w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-pos-min-300x203.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-pos-min-768x519.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-pos-min-1024x692.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1482px) 100vw, 1482px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since restaurants are restricted to only holding 25% of their indoor diners, certain states are allowing restaurants to have<\/span><b> unlimited outdoor seating<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Local legislators are in support of this to not only help restaurants get back on their feet but to also reduce the possibility of people contracting the virus in an enclosed space. However, they don\u2019t just want to limit it to only larger restaurants having this advantage so all restaurants are allowed to do the following options:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourage city officials to <\/span><b>close down popular streets<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so restaurants without a backyard space can serve more guests in front of their restaurant.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upon permit approval, <\/span><b>restaurants can place temporary structures, equipment, and merchandise<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> up to 25% of their parking lots unless they have an additional parking lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1150\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Fast Casual Point of Sale\" width=\"1334\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min.png 1334w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min-300x225.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min-768x576.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min-1024x768.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/food-festival-pos-min-285x214.png 285w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1334px) 100vw, 1334px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though this varies per city, <\/span><b>check with your local government<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to see if they are temporarily allowing these actions. For instance, cities such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/2020\/05\/08\/coronavirus-in-ohio-cincinnati-to-close-streets-to-help-restaurants\/3098965001\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cincinnati<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/article\/news\/local\/why-are-the-roads-closed-in-tampa\/67-64703ffa-5653-4d5e-8ed1-60b02fe3cff0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tampa <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are temporarily closing streets to allow restaurants to extend their business outdoors. If you feel like this would help your restaurant and others then you should go to your local representatives to encourage them to support the move. Having outdoor seating can help not only to expand your restaurant but it can be a<\/span><b> valuable marketing tool<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to showcase it as well. If your state is allowing these options, keep in that tables must remain 6 feet apart in order to comply with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/05\/07\/trump-administration-shelves-detailed-cdc-guide-to-reopening-the-country.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CDC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> guidelines.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-976\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Outdoor Seating\" width=\"1050\" height=\"701\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min.png 1050w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min-300x200.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min-768x513.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min-1024x684.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1503365268595-ee3947b49b1b-min-750x500.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>2. Do I need to apply for a permit even though it\u2019s temporary?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes even though government officials are being more relaxed toward restaurant owners it\u2019s still important to make sure that you have a permit to run your outdoor seating. These permits help keep your guests safe by ensuring that you have the right space in order to have an outdoor dining area. Right now is the best time to apply because of the <\/span><b>waived fee<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In order to qualify, restaurants must offer an outdoor space that:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has <\/span><b>emergency access<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can fit seating\/tables that are <\/span><b>6 feet apart<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Must be <\/span><b>free of litter<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1151\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Fast Casual Point of Sale\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1001\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min.png 1500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min-300x200.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min-768x513.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min-1024x683.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/outdoor-seating-1-min-750x500.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In states such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.naplesnews.com\/story\/news\/government\/2020\/05\/06\/collier-county-allow-more-outdoor-restaurant-seating\/3081462001\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Florida<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, allows restaurant owners who do not have parking can get a letter from the property owner or manager permitting to use outdoor space for seating purposes. If you\u2019re interested in learning more and how to apply, you should go on your city\u2019s page to learn what qualifications you must have and to see what you need in order to qualify.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1264\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ouotdoor-seating-min.png\" alt=\"fast casual point of sale\" width=\"3952\" height=\"4691\" \/><br \/>\n<b>3. Do I need specific equipment in order to run my outdoor service area?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, you do need to invest in the right equipment in order to have a successful outdoor area. This is not only a great service offer in the warmer months but it helps give customers a sneak peek into what your restaurant is like. Choose furniture that compliments your restaurant\u2019s aesthetic while being functional and comfortable for your customers. Some other things to consider include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<ol>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Keep your equipment safe <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by having stackable chairs and tables that you can either put away or lock it. Make sure that they\u2019re light enough though for your servers to pick up and put away.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure that your<\/span><b> equipment is weatherproof <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">so you don\u2019t lose valuable equipment. If you have space and wanted to bring you indoor tables outside it\u2019s encouraged to invest in a<\/span><b> temporary tent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>furniture pads<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to protect the bottom of furniture legs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Add entertainment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for guests by plugging in music to <\/span><b>outdoor speakers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or work with a <\/span><b>local band<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to perform live music.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-975\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min.png\" alt=\"OrderCounter Cloud Hybrid POS- Outdoor equipment\" width=\"1267\" height=\"950\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min.png 1267w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min-300x225.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min-768x576.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min-1024x768.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/photo-1496175723517-7dacd7a3f3c2-min-285x214.png 285w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1267px) 100vw, 1267px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever you decide on doing when reopening your restaurant remember that there are ways for you to make money while keeping your customers and staff safe during these times. Consider additional <\/span><b>precautions <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when reopening your dine-in service such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restricting dine-in services to reservations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limiting to groups of five or fewer<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continually sanitizing your menus or switch to a disposable paper menu<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Single-use or disposable utensils\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourage cashless or no-contact payment methods<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about how you can prepare your restaurant for your dine-in or outdoor dining service check out the official ServSafe <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/restaurant.org\/Articles\/News\/Association-issues-reopening-guidance\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guidelines<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Felicity Moore\u00a0|May 15, 2020 Restaurants Serve Customers Outdoors To Increase Capacity As COVID-19 cases start to dwindle down restaurants are now permitted to open their dine-in service to a 25% capacity. Officials believe that this way it can help restaurants start to regain operations after being restricted to carry-out and delivery services. However, there are<a href=\"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/15\/increase-capacity-outdoor-dining\/\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,9],"tags":[72,36,77,40,62,64,43,74,65,70,71,73,35,59,75,49,51,42,76],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-restaurant-resources","tag-25-capacity","tag-covid-19","tag-expand","tag-fast-casual","tag-fine-dining","tag-hybrid-point-of-sale","tag-hybrid-pos","tag-increase-restaurant-space","tag-multi-unit","tag-outdoor","tag-outdoor-service","tag-pandemic","tag-point-of-sale","tag-pos","tag-recoup-earnings","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-ideas","tag-restaurants","tag-social-distancing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1833,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/1833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.ordercounter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}