Winter is coming to Brooklyn! We know that everyone in Brooklyn loves the fall (who doesn’t love the fall colors and cool breezes?), but this winter and fall, restaurant owners are facing a lot of anxiety. COVID-19 and various regulations and restrictions mean that we may be facing the end of the “outdoor dining season.” That’s a problem. Why? Because for many restaurants, outdoor dining is their lifeblood. It is accounting for a LOT of their revenue, along with carry-out of course.

Restaurant owners for whom we do their linens are asking us for help. Of course we provide linens such as tablecloths, chef’s aprons, towels, and other linen supplies to restaurants and even as we have all shifted to much more outdoor dining and/or takeout those needs have continued. But we have been wondering – what are some ways that a restaurant owner can extend outdoor dining into the fall or perhaps even the winter months? After all, it’s not unheard of in New York City to have a few warm days in November or even December. On those days, wouldn‘t it be nice to open up your outdoor seating?

OUTDOOR HEATING IS ONE PART OF THE SOLUTION

The first thing that comes to mind is heating. You can have outdoor heaters, often powered by propane, and those can extend your outdoor seating arrangements. But there are other things you can do. One of these are what we might call “single use” restaurant blankets. Many restaurants in Europe and even in South America (e.g., Brazil) are trying these out. The patrons come in and in addition to finding napkins, tablecloths, and other fresh table linens, they find blankets draped over the back of their chairs. Thus if a person is cold, they can take one of these single-use restaurant blankets and wrap it around themselves. We call this better than BYOB – Bring Your Own Blanket! The restaurant owner has clean, fresh blankets ready to go.

RESTAURANT BLANKETS HELP EXTEND THE OUTDOOR SEATING SEASON

Restaurant blankets are fun! They make outdoor dining a fun experience, especially on Fall afternoons or early evenings. And by offering single use restaurant blankets to your customers, you help them stay safe during the Pandemic. If you’re interested, whether or not your in Brooklyn – but anywhere in New York City – reach out to us for a free consultation. We can show you use cases that really work! Restaurant blankets can be a small but significant part of our survival strategy during COVID-19.