In the pursuit for success, a restaurant can often benefit from every edge it can manage to find. Whether it’s connecting with a competitive supplier or having a unique selling point to attract customers, it’s all part of the effort to generate consistent sales. Sometimes, though, finding the next area of improvement requires thinking outside the box. Instead of focusing solely on the big picture, why not consider the following basic yet fundamental question: how comfortable are your customers?
Maintaining the right indoor temperature can be challenging, especially in restaurants that see a high volume of foot traffic; the constant flow of patrons through the door means that air is always rushing both ways. Open doors can lead to a space that’s too warm during the summer and too cold in the winter, even with HVAC systems running. There’s good news, however — there’s a solution to the problem that “just works:” the air curtain. How can installing one help your restaurant?
Keep Outside Intrusions from Bothering Patrons
Ask any restaurant patron what influences their enjoyment of an establishment the most, and many will give you a similar answer. After the quality of food, the next most important factor is ambiance. In other words, when people come to patronize your business, they want to step through the door to be transported away from life outside. The experience of getting comfortable, enjoying friendly company, and dining on good food is best when there is nothing to disturb the setting.
When new patrons enter, though, the open door can allow them to bring along distracting intrusions. These can include flying insects such as mosquitoes and unpleasant odors from parking lots or nearby roads. Dust and debris can come in as well. With an air curtain dividing interior and exterior with a smooth stream of air, though, you can drastically reduce these disturbances and allow other guests to remain focused on their meals.
Improve Customer Comfort All Year Round
Another critical component to restaurant ambiance is the real atmosphere inside the space, that is, the temperature and humidity. A robust HVAC system is key to maintaining a pleasant environment where guests are neither too hot nor too cold. However, as mentioned above, foot traffic and frequent movement from the outdoors can force your heating or cooling systems to work harder all the time just to contend with the loss of conditioned air. The result can be a dining room that feels stuffy in the summer and a little too chilly in the winter — especially for patrons seated near front doors.
Again, air curtains offer a practical solution to this problem. The same air stream that keeps out flying insects also keeps air where it belongs: inside. The right curtain helps to minimize the amount of air movement between temperature zones, so your cold (or warm) air stays in the dining room while only a small amount of outside air enters near the floor. The result is more consistent climate control and happier patrons.
Push Energy Costs Down Even in Summer
Caring for your customers is always worth an investment, but air curtains can actually help your business save money at the same time as they improve customer experiences. Consider the scenario outlined above, where your restaurant always faces a temperature imbalance. This imbalance causes your HVAC systems to work overtime, driving up energy costs and increasing wear and tear. Unlike cooks on the line, you can’t plead with your AC to stay on through the rush; if it breaks, it breaks.
Both situations represent frustrating financial impacts to the business. Here, too, air curtains can come to the rescue. The same effect that allows customers to remain comfortable also means your unit must work much less to maintain the same temperature. That cuts down on energy usage and maintenance costs at the same time. Even in winter, air curtains that use a heater can help to maintain indoor air temperatures at a fraction of the cost of running your furnace at full blast throughout the entire season.
Making an Investment for Your Restaurant’s Future
With the ability to access and harness these benefits for your restaurant, you can seize the potential to find more opportunities for growth. Long-term success can often hinge on decisions you make early in the process. When you consider how an air curtain can help to save on heating and cooling costs throughout the year while delivering other perks, the value they represent to your establishment should be clear.
At Air Door Distributors, our team is ready to help you identify and source the most suitable air curtain for your restaurant. With in-depth industry experience that informs our ability to deliver superior service, we look forward to helping you tap into this technology. To find out more about choosing the appropriate hardware and the ordering process, contact us today.