Good premises can be hard to find, but with the right choice of restaurant furniture you can be confident that you are not only making your establishment look the best it can be, but also fitting as many customers as possible into the space available.
We always say it is important not to over-pack your premises, not only due to fire safety concerns, but simply for the comfort of your customers and the practicalities of serving staff who need to be able to move freely around the room in order to deliver meals and collect empty plates.
However, of course you still want to cater for as many paying customers as possible at any one time, and that often means doing more with less, at least in terms of the availability of space.
In recent research published by the foodservice market analyst Horizons, 'eating-out entrepreneurs' were upbeat, with 54% of respondents saying they plan to open at least five new venues over the coming year.
But it's all about location, and 38% of respondents said finding premises is still their biggest challenge, with an equivalent 38% also concerned about the cost of property, eclipsing other issues like staff costs (18%) and food costs (6%).
Nearly all those surveyed have London on their wish lists, with 92% saying they would like to open a cafe in the capital, while 89% are looking to town centres and high streets elsewhere in the country.
As always, it may be better to improve, rather than to move - any new premises are likely to need some work to decorate them exactly as you wish, so you may as well be prepared to overhaul the interiors of any properties you invest in, in order to make them the best they can be.
Your choice of restaurant furniture is important; for example, round tables can create a sociable atmosphere, with diners all facing inwards towards one another, but they may take up more space.
In comparison, if the amount of room you have available is very limited, you might prefer to opt for rectangular tables, with diners from different parties seated back to back, making the most of the straight lines to fit more groups into the same amount of space.