While it might be nice to have customers who travel the length of the country to dine in your establishment, the reality for many foodservice businesses is a heavy reliance on local trade - and your choice of restaurant furniture is one factor that can help you to do better.
Camden bar and restaurant Gilgamesh recently surveyed Londoners to find out about their eating habits, and while the capital is hardly typical of the UK population as a whole, the conclusions might at least be of interest to restaurateurs in other cities and large towns.
For instance, 45% of the survey's respondents said they prefer to dine close to home - and 32% say this is inspired by their reluctance to drive to the venue, whether to avoid traffic or to allow them to enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their meal.
Some 68% said they prefer establishments where the menu is based around locally sourced ingredients, which is perhaps a further driving force behind diners wanting to stay close to home for some truly regional delicacies.
But how do you set yourself apart from other restaurants in a bustling and densely packed city centre or town?
Other key factors included the restaurant's reputation, but also its ambiance and table availability - suggesting that it is both the quantity and quality of the restaurant furniture in your premises that combine to determine its appeal.
Despite the egotistical stereotype of head chef many people might imagine, it turns out fewer than one in ten people actually care who is in charge when choosing a restaurant - and twice as many are more likely to be swayed by pricing deals and special offers.
But that does not mean your prices need to be rock-bottom, as many of the survey's respondents said they would be willing to make other sacrifices to afford a meal out with friends.
Over three quarters (76%) said they had already made cutbacks elsewhere in order to eat out as often as they would like; one in five would reduce their alcohol intake to save the necessary money, and almost as many (19%) would shop around for cheaper groceries, cutting back on their home cost of living to fund their passion for eating out.