Is Your Restaurant Lit?

Accessibility means visibility. When people think about ADA compliance and accessibility issues, they often think of wheelchair ramps. While making sure customers have wheelchair access throughout your dining room and restrooms, it’s also important to have the right lighting. Make sure your customers with visual impairments are also comfortable, and add signage that improves everyone’s experience. Here are two ways to do it:

Light up the sides of ramps and main aisles.

Many steps and ramps are required to have warning tape along the edges for general safety compliance. But that tape gets worn, torn, and obscured by dim lighting. Make everyone safer (and keep traffic moving in the best way for your restaurant) by adding smooth lighting along the edges of ramps and main aisles. Not only does this help highlight where the ramp is, it helps people know where to walk in a crowded space. It also implicitly reminds patrons to keep their bags out of the aisle so servers and new arrivals have an easier time getting to the tables.

Have multiple, lit signs pointing to the restrooms and exits.

Many restaurants have a split floor space. Whether it’s a wall dividing up the space, a central bar, or just decorative features, there’s usually some sort of barrier. But that means not everyone can see the sign above the restrooms. Make sure you have a clear, lit sign near the ceiling for maximum visibility. Have an additional sign and arrow visible from any point in the restaurant where the actual doorway is obscured. Many Applebee’s restaurants have made a point of hanging neon signs with a directive arrow on opposite sides of the restaurant, which are not only helpful but fit in with their decor.

Restaurant And Bar Lighting: Create An Ambience Your Customers Will Not Forget

When you think about the holiday season and all of the excitement, what do you usually think about? We see plenty of decorations and lights around the neighborhoods and in the workplace locations. During the holiday season, your customers and guests are usually in the holiday spirit. You can make your restaurant environment better by creating an amazing atmosphere for your restaurant.

Your restaurant lighting can greatly be improved by using LED lighting. How can LED lighting be used to improve your restaurant during the holiday season or whenever you want to create an ambience your customers will never forget?

Liquor Shelf

If you have a liquor shelf in your restaurant, you can attract the attention of everyone in your restaurant when you have a bottle shelf that has color-changing lights. When the shelves are lit, you will see how the lights reflect off all the bottles on the shelf. Your bottle shelf can become one of the main points of attraction at your restaurant.

Bar Tops/Bottoms

You do not have to limit your LED lighting to your liquor shelf. You can use the lights on the bottom of the bar and at the top of the bar. Can you imagine the environment you can create with bar lights, especially when you dim the lights in the restaurant? It will be an addition customers will see as unique and keep in mind when spreading the word about your restaurant.

Dance Floor

Do you have a dance floor in your restaurant? If you really want to light up the room and create an unforgettable night, you can use LED lighting on your dance floor. The different lights on the dance floor matching the beats and flow of the music will add a fun atmosphere that will ensure a happier client base.

You can add an incredible touch to your restaurant, bar, or club with LED lighting.

How to redesign your restaurant and incorporate functional lighting in the redesign!

Part and parcel of being a restaurateur is knowing how to make your restaurant look as good as the food you make.

With that in mind, here are some great restaurant design tips and tricks that also incorporate functional restaurant lighting in the design:

  • Before you even meet with an interior designer and/or a contractor, you need to assess your personality. Yes, your restaurant is not only an extension of your food, but of your personality as well. For example, ambient lighting is perfect for a small, romantic cafe, but bright fluorescent lighting is perfect for a large, industrial-style diner. Both types of lighting, of course, can be made energy-efficient!
  • Position your brand accordingly, especially if you have exclusivity in a market. For example, if you’re the only restaurant in town that offers brick oven pizza, positioning your brand as the onlybrick oven pizza restaurant in town will make you stand out from the rest.. and give you dominance in the market.
  • Don’t ignore the small details: even the silverware that you pick out for your restaurant matters.
  • The decorations you choose in the restaurant should also be in line with the rest of the theme, as well.

Of course, the design of a restaurant shouldn’t be taken lightly, and is best done by a professional. In addition to providing tips on decor and construction, a true professional can incorporate the best lighting solutions into his/her design.. and that’s where we come in. Relumination, LLC specializes in helping companies of all sizes reduce energy costs, lower maintenance expenses, decrease their environmental footprint and improve their quality of light through energy-efficient lighting solutions.

Improve Your Restaurant with Proper Restaurant Lighting

A restaurant cannot solely rely on the quality of the food to remain in business. It is necessary to impress in other aspects, which means details such as seating, employees, and lighting that need to be top-notch. Excellent lighting can create a desired ambiance, which can help your restaurant succeed.

Learning about what you can do to improve lighting will ensure restaurant lighting is one of the main reasons you see your growth in your restaurant’s business.

Provide Just Enough Table Lighting

Excessive lighting can make an eating space look clinical, and this is something you want to avoid. It is best to create a calm and relaxing atmosphere, which can be accomplished with properly placed lighting, correct color temperature, and lighting fixtures that enhance illumination.

Make an Appealing Entrance

Whether you are going for a candlelit dinner look or a welcoming family restaurant feel, how you set up entrance lighting can have an enormous impact on the kind of response you get from others. It is vital to stay with the same plan and intentions throughout your restaurant to create a cohesive experience.

Sufficient Outdoor Lighting

Both the outside entrance and the outdoor seating need to be lit properly to ensure people feel safe when choosing your restaurant, along with when they choose to eat outside. It can be a little challenging to create perfect lighting for your outside customers, but professionals will be able to devise a plan.

Although lighting is just one of numerous important factors that determine the success of your restaurant, making some upgrades to lighting can be an excellent investment for overall improvements.

Improve Your Bar Lighting To Give Your Patrons A Better Experience

Lighting that is well designed is a key and important feature for maintaining a well-established customer base at your bar, as well as being an appealing place to new customers. Previously, it may have been too expensive to run well-designed lights and maintain them. Now, many bar owners are discovering that they can afford LED lighting because the prices are becoming lower as the lighting industry progresses. Even if you are part of a small business, you can afford fantastic bar lighting. There are plenty of utility companies that offer rebates and credits for those who implement energy saving solutions.

LED lights for your bar will illuminate and appeal customers more than other traditional lights. If you have a hyper bar or a modern bar, your lighting should be just right for any setting. The fixtures in bars will certainly vary, but certain lights can still be considered the same. The people at the bar will not want an extreme amount of light that can ultimately overwhelm the eyes, but they will need just enough lighting that will allow them to walk or dance around. The lights in a bar do not have to be overwhelming to the eyes to produce flawless results.

The bartenders are responsible for making the drinks, and they need to see what they are making. We do not want anything to interrupt your great atmosphere, so an option would be to have strip lights under the cabinets. The lights will allow quality drinks to be made without bringing any kind of disturbance or unwanted attention to what you are doing. The customers or partygoers in the bar will enjoy the glow they see from the counter, and it can even add something to the bar’s atmosphere.

Unlike the traditional lights you may have, LED lighting will cooperate with controls, such as dimmers and sensors. When you can dim lights or adjust them the way you like, you can reduce the amount of energy that is coming from the lighting. Implementing LED lights can also be used on the outside of the bar for the parking area or an outdoor eating area. There are limitless reasons to implement better lighting for your bar.

 

Restaurant Lighting: Light Your Grand Opening, Reducing Energy Costs and Saving Electricity

Restaurant-Lighting-IdeasThere are so many tasks on your checklist to complete before your restaurants’ grand opening. Finding a prime location for the type of clientele you are catering to, gathering the funds for startup, space and menu planning, hiring staff and ensuring that you have all required licenses and permits to open your venue on time; are tasks that may be difficult, time consuming, and costly. Phew! Don’t fret. Let’s set the mood with “light”. This may not seem like a big deal right not, but restaurant lighting plays a big role in your venue, and it’s up to you to decide what type of lighting is appropriate for the ambiance and style of your particular business.

First of all, what will be the overall mood of restaurant you are you looking to open? What will be your hours of operation and what will be your target audience?

“Choosing the Correct Music/Lighting/Décor for Your Restaurant” an article featured on Fohboh.com, suggest that the following are key points in choosing the right type of lighting for your establishment:

For instance, if you will be opening a breakfast restaurant, you’ll want bright lighting, establishing a wakeful, energetic tone. Restaurants catering to the dinner crowd will want to feature less intense lighting to convey a sense of relaxation and unwinding after a long day. Themed restaurants give you more room to play around with lighting fixtures, colors and placements to convey your theme.

Now, we know that keeping your establishment lit during long periods of time may be mandatory, yet a costly expense for your restaurant. According to energystar.gov, “the lights will remain on in a typical restaurant for 16-20 hours per day.”

Cut the cost of your light bill, significantly! Lighting fixtures and bulbs endorsed by Energy Star reduce the consumption of energy, cuts the output of heat by up to 75% and lasts 10-25 times longer than standard lighting fixtures and bulbs.

For more information on restaurant lighting, as well as case studies and product information, click here.

Bar Lighting Influences a Facility’s Atmosphere and Profits

How’s your bar’s bottom line? If it’s looking a little thin, take a good look around. It could be due to your bar’s lighting.Bar lighting falls under the consumer research category known as atmospherics. It can influence everything from your bar patrons’ moods to their purchasing habits. Here’s more:

As previously mentioned, atmospherics research has shown that indoor lighting may be used to influence consumer behavior in a variety of ways. For example, bar lighting may help steer patrons’ eyes towards a row of top-shelf liquors. It could also be used to attract patrons to certain areas of the bar and cause them to linger there. There has even been works written by the University of Gavle and the Center for Problem-Oriented Policy that seem to indicate certain types of lighting may reduce episodes of aggression among patrons.

bar_lightingWith that said, LEDs are one form of bar lighting that you should consider investing in. To begin with, the bulbs have a long life, feel cool to the touch are compact and energy efficient. Therefore, the bar lights will save you money and you can use them in a variety of places. For example, you could build them into tables, seating arrangements, walls, liquor display areas and bar backs. The bar lights are also easily controllable with the aid of companion items (i.e. hardware and software). As such, you could adjust them throughout the evening to redirect your bar patrons’ attention as needed.

Not sure where to start when it comes to purchasing energy efficient bar lighting? We here at Relumination can help. We have been in the lighting solutions business for years. As a matter of fact, case studies detailing how we’ve helped food and beverage businesses with their lighting needs are available on our website. They’ll give you additional insight on what great lighting can do for a bar’s bottom line. Once you’ve had a chance to read them, contact us. Afterward, we’ll conduct an in-depth examination of your bar’s lighting issues and help you come up with a viable solution.