Have you ever noticed that in some pubs everyone drinks at the bar while in others everyone is sitting down? Or have you ever wondered why customers choose one bar to get together with a group of mates, but go somewhere completely different to meet up for a date, and somewhere else again for that after work drink with colleagues?
The answer to these questions is bar design – the way a bar is laid out, furnished and decorated can have profoundly different effects on its customers’ behaviour, and even which customers go in there in the first place.
Here London bar design experts and fit out company, Thames Contracts, reveals just a few of the trade secrets we use to help pub and restaurant owners send the right behavioural cues to their customers.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Every element of your bar design sends unconscious messages to your customers about who the bar is intended to appeal to. And the first message it needs to send a prospective customer is whether this is “their type of place”. Everything from the colour scheme, to the materials used, the type of flooring and furniture and the presence of any artwork, should be designed to appeal to specific demographic groups, for instance:
- Young vs mature
- Singles vs couples vs families
- Business vs leisure
For instance, in the image above, the silver coloured bar is shaped in a way which does not lend itself to people standing at the bar, while the marble floor gives an additional sense of opulence. But other details – the orchid plant, the designer bar stools, lighting and wall art are more classic than trendy. In short, this bar says “upmarket” and “sophisticated” and is therefore more likely to attract a more mature, professional clientele, or perhaps be a destination for a business lunch with clients.
Stand at the Bar or Find a Table?
One of the first things you want to convey to a customer is whether they are expected to stay at the bar to have their drink, or whether you would prefer them to find a table away from the bar. This can greatly affect the atmosphere of the bar and how well the bar functions.
For instance, if you are trying to appeal to a family market, it can be off-putting for customers if they see the bar surrounded by a group of people, making it difficult to place an order with the bartender. And if they are all standing up, it can even be intimidating.
However, if you want to present your bar as a place for a younger, singles-oriented clientele to meet up, you may want to actively encourage customers to gather around the bar, as it creates more of a “buzz”. Customers arriving on their own will prefer to feel that they are joining a group, rather than sitting down by themselves – and it’s much easier to strike up a conversation with someone interesting if you are already sharing the same physical space.
Here are just a few ways to send the right messages to your customers:
Foot rail – Many pub counters have a metal foot rail along the length of the bar, about 5 inches above the ground. This makes it more comfortable to stand at the bar for a length of time, as it allows someone to change their position at intervals. A foot rail says “stay”; no foot rail says “move away”.
However, moving the foot rail out from the bar can have the opposite effect. In the image below, the foot rail is about 8-10 inches from the bar, making it difficult to lean against the bar. This ensures that customers are able to place their orders but are not inclined to settle there (and note there are no bar stools either).
Bar stools – You should only provide bar stools along the length of the bar if you want your customers to settle at the bar, rather than finding another spot. This might be ideal for some bars, but counterproductive for others. If you want your bar to be a popular place for people meeting friends or dates then bar stools offer a place for someone to sit for a while, without feeling self-conscious about being on their own. The design of the seating itself is also important: large, comfortable seats with back rests and foot rests say “stay longer”; smaller, less comfortable seating says “sit here for a while and then move on”.
Bar lips and rails – A small “lip” along the front edge of a bar can make it just slightly uncomfortable to lean on, either standing or sitting. A rail of a few centimetres in height will prevent leaning altogether.
Bar depth – A deeper bar creates lots of space for customers to place their drinks, phones, keys and other personal items. It encourages them to “settle” and make themselves at home. This could be ideal if you want people to order food to eat at the bar, diner-style, but not if you want people to move away to longer term seating. A narrow bar means that customers have to compete for space with bar items such as mats, towels, snack bowls, drip trays, ice buckets etc., which will tend to make people look around for somewhere more spacious, such as tables away from the bar.
Proximity to the door – Where you place the bar in relation to the entrance and other seating will have a profound effect on where people decide to sit. Customers will start to pick out likely places to sit as soon as they come through the door. If the first seats they see are at the bar, with other seating some way off, they will be more likely to settle at the bar. If they see tables and chairs first, with the bar further away, they are more likely to mentally pick out a table, get a drink and come back to sit down.
These are just a few of the techniques we can employ to help make your bar work better for the clientele you want to attract. But we have many more as a result of over 25 years in the bar design business. So, if you are looking for bar fitters who can also provide you with an expert interior design service, please call us. We carry out many projects in North London, including Edgware and Barnet, as well as in Hertfordshire.