Using Custom Restaurant Furniture to Tell Your Story

Restaurant owners understand the importance of communicating the vision of their brand to customers as soon as they walk through the door. The story of your brand is told in chapters, and the first one starts when patrons see your furnishings. They take in the interior design and form a perception of you that is as difficult to change as the first impression of a blind date.

Imagine how generic, mass-produced furniture might factor into that perception. Restaurants may try to save money in the short term with off-the-shelf interior design, but what about the long-term brand vision? If the appearance is generic, won’t the perception be generic too?

That’s why custom restaurant furniture represents far more than an expense – it is a long-term investment in your restaurant’s brand perception. To communicate a vision that customers will remember fondly, custom furniture artisans tailor unique solutions to unique spaces. Many of these craftsmen have this skill passed through generations of their families, establishing a foundation of unmatched talent. In this article, we explain what this means for your bottom line, and how you can start making the first impression your business deserves.

How Brand Consistency Leads to Loyalty

Marketing pros use the term “brand consistency” to refer to how well design elements remain consistent across a business’s branded materials. While usually referring to signs and logos, brand consistency carries over to all aspects of a business’s design. Furniture is an undervalued aspect of creating a unified vision for consistent branding.

In a restaurant, think of how many touchpoints a chair represents compared to a sign. Once the customer is in the building, they won’t see the sign again until they leave. Yet, they see and engage with the chairs for the entire duration of their visit.

Here are some examples of how this can play out and why furniture should be a much more significant part of the branding conversation:

Scenario 1: A restaurant makes comfort its key advertising message. The mood is designed to welcome customers as guests and encourage them to stay. Uncomfortable chairs contradict this vision and lead patrons to a different conclusion.

Scenario 2: A restaurant prides itself in being eco-friendly. Generic, mass-produced furniture tells astute customers that sustainability is just a marketing pitch, not a valued practice.

Scenario 3: An expensive seasonal menu attracts customers hungry for a bespoke dining experience. Off-the-shelf furniture ruins their perception of the restaurant’s uniqueness.

Custom restaurant furniture can reverse these scenarios by tailoring the dining experience to the intended brand vision. Customers who can see the vision in practice become loyal to that vision, especially when they share those values.

The Benefits of Choosing Custom Restaurant Furniture

Now that you are able to apply the vision to your restaurant, you can see how easy it is to achieve. The goal of using custom restaurant furniture to reinforce your brand’s story can be summarized in three chapters:

1. Establish your brand’s values
2. Encourage customer engagement with those values
3. Create lasting brand recognition around those values

While functionality is the top priority for restaurant furniture, it has the potential to communicate far more about the identity of your brand. You can communicate a devotion to the environment with sustainable materials or use customized comfort to create a touchpoint with your business’s message of providing customer-first luxuries.

Once the values are established, quality custom furniture designs immerse customers in your intended experience. By connecting with your values, they create emotional connections to the business itself. In the customer service industry, this is a recipe for brand loyalty that so many restaurants strive to achieve.

How to Choose Custom Restaurant Furniture

To choose the right furniture for your brand’s message, you first have to understand the message.

• Who is your target visitor?
• Are they looking for luxury or comfort?
• Are they hoping to support brands that share their values or looking for a no-frills experience that puts values on the backburner?

When buying furniture at a standard store, restaurants are forced to look for pieces that approximately fit their brand’s message. With custom restaurant furniture, you have the ability to work with artisans to create pieces that establish and reinforce your message using designs perfectly tailored to your spaces, your values, and your target visitors.

This includes choosing materials that align with your brand’s values and personality. Reclaimed wood communicates a vastly different message than steel. With custom restaurant furniture, you have the chance to turn your brand identity into a shared value with your most important customers, something they’ll be able to see as soon as they walk through the door.

Learn How Custom Restaurant Furniture Turns Your Story Into Customer Experiences

At Sixth Avenue, our seasoned craftsmen create unique seating, tables, and other interior design elements to help restaurants achieve their intended experience for their customers. Our top priority is to exceed our customers’ expectations with bespoke designs that cater to their patrons and communicate their brand values.

Generic furniture often leads to generic brand perception, which can negatively impact the customer experience at your restaurant. Our team of artisans at Sixth Avenue Custom is devoted to elevating your customers’ experience with unique furniture solutions tailored to your spaces, your values, and your vision.

Contact us today to learn how our custom restaurant furniture can be the storyteller your brand has been looking for.