Industry Notes: How to Pick a Chair

Making a restaurant is a lot of things but mostly it’s about picking a chair.

There are many decisions to be made, of course. The food, for one. A menu should be familiar enough to get someone in the door but unique enough to keep them coming back.

And lighting. I like three sources: overhead (pendants), mid-height (bart top lamps or wall sconces), and low level (candles or small table lamps). Exposed bulbs are tricky, dimmers are imperative, and LED sucks but it’s getting better.

There are playlists to be made, uniforms to source. China, glass, silverware. It all sends a little message, tells a story about who you are and what you do. This is the brilliant part of making a restaurant. If you like to tell stories, it’s the best business in the world.

But it all comes back to the chair - you must get it right.

After all, people will tell you: “the business is about butts in seats.” And if that’s true (and it is), the chair is really fucking important.