The Outdoor Dining Pivot
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Top trans-seasonal heating options that will entice patrons year-round
The most significant trend in dining out is dining outdoors! And while a casual, relaxed ambiance and great people watching have long attracted customers to dining and drinking alfresco, the pandemic has them preferring venues with plenty of fresh air more than ever. Which is why creating multi-seasonal spaces is vital.
“The increased appetite for outdoor dining is continuing, and what started as a temporary pivot to survive for many hospitality venues has turned into a permanent offering. And for many cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs it’s a boon, as having both indoor and outdoor dining spaces can help increase their takings and breathe new life into their venue,” says Stephane Thomas, Director of MAD Design, whose brands include EcoSmart Fire, HEATSCOPE® (electric radiant heaters), and Blinde Design (furniture and accessories).
The founder of Houston’s B.B. Lemon restaurant, Benjamin Berg, recently told OpenTable that since he created an outdoor dining space “it’s almost like a garden party every night”, and he encourages others in hospitality to make their outdoor dining space desirable “where people want to be – not just where they’re forced to be because they feel it’s safer”.
However, while courtyards, patios, balconies and terraces offer safer fresh air, they are more challenging to heat. “An outdoor space that is comfortably warm on cool days and evenings and during the colder months can attract more diners all year,” says Thomas. “As Dawn Allcott on real estate marketplace site Loopnet said, restaurant owners who go the extra mile to make their outdoor spaces more inviting can turn the 'proverbial lemons' served up by the pandemic into lemonade.
While the flicker of firelight creates an unmistakable sense of romance and charm, it doesn’t heat outdoor open spaces as efficiently. That’s where radiant heaters come into play. Smart venues are doubling down, pairing the ambient appeal of fire pits, fire tables and fireplaces with discreet, high-performance electric radiant heaters like HEATSCOPE®. This two-pronged approach delivers both mood and measurable comfort, ensuring guests linger longer, stay warmer, and spend more. It’s all about having the right tools in your outdoor heating kit, with each playing a different role to transform alfresco areas into true all-season revenue drivers.
Customers want the comfort of indoors with the charm of alfresco – even a touch of romance. The simplest way to create that vibe is with discreet heating and the natural ambience of a real flame
Stephane Thomas - Director, MAD Design Group
The benefits of ethanol-fuelled fire pits
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The easy appeal of fire tables
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© SAIKAIBASHI CORAZON HOTEL Low-maintenance outdoor fireplaces
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Today’s built-in outdoor fireplaces combine the visual and sensory appeal of traditional indoor hearths with design freedom and versatility. And restaurant, café and bar owners and their designers, architects and builders are not only specifying and installing them to give outdoor dining spaces a warm, inviting ambiance, but also to create an eye-catching feature and focal point. Additionally, they’re using a variety of materials and surround designs that take inspiration from luxury resorts and homes; popular décor styles including modern minimalist, coastal, mid-century, country; and the countries of their cuisines such as Mexican, Italian and Greek.
EcoSmart Fire’s range of stainless steel ethanol burners and the ever-versatile Flex fireplace inserts give venue owners both design freedom and ease of installation, as they don’t require a vent or chimney, nor connection to gas or electricity. Not being connected to a fixed power source also means EcoSmart’s ethanol-fuelled Flex Fireplaces can be installed almost anywhere in your outdoor space, in both full and partial walls.
The fireplace inserts are constructed from durable and rust-proof powder-coated steel, making them perfect for outdoor spaces. There are eight, versatile models to choose from in a choice of lengths and styles, including single-sided, double-sided and bench-style, as well as models with three and four open sides.
“Two or more open sides enable more customers to enjoy the flickering flames,” says Thomas. “A double-sided Flex Fireplace installed into an external wall adds warmth and an inviting ambience to both an indoor room and an outdoor space. A great example is the Tocca Madera restaurant in Los Angeles, which chose a double-sided insert for a wall that divides their interior and outdoor dining spaces. And they finished it with a natural stone surround to complement their venue’s modern Mexican-style décor.”
The clean-lined Flex Fireplace inserts fit flush to the wall, giving you the freedom to create a surround of your choice – perhaps to complement your outdoor dining space’s décor or your type of cuisine, or no surround at all for a sleek, minimalist look. Popular surround styles for the modern, custom fireplaces include slimline stone and timber mantels, roughly-hewn timber slab-style mantels and hearths, oversized granite hearths that double as a ledge, and smooth and natural-finish stack-stone and stone facing that covers a section or the entire fireplace wall.