A couple of weeks ago I posted our Four Month Progress Report and mentioned that we were getting ready to change our seating arrangement in the back of the cafe.
The clunky high top tables we inherited with the room were probably intended to be standing tables used only to set drinks on, or maybe they were display tables in a retail setting – the overhang is only a few inches, so it’s not possible to get your knees under the table.
Between the tables that aren’t really tables and our metal bar stools, the result was an uncomfortable seating arrangement that didn’t work for older guests or anyone with mobility issues and didn’t have the flexibility we needed to accommodate different types of events. We also had a small living room arrangement anchored by a loveseat next to the stage that didn’t seem to get used much unless we were completely full.
We needed an arrangement that worked better for the daytime cafe business, but that would also work well for live shows with minimal shuffling of furniture. We have to rearrange the living room areas in the front for our ticketed shows, and it’s A LOT of work – so we wanted the back to stay more or less intact no matter what we have going on.
I decided that 24″ square tables would work well for what we’re doing. We don’t have a kitchen and our menu is small, so large tables would be overkill. Small squares work perfectly for one or two people, but can easily be pushed together for larger groups. During the day the chairs face each other and in the evening both chairs can face the stage. The tables make it easier to enjoy food and drinks during a performance too.
Restaurant table bases and tops can be really expensive, and unfortunately, the table tops that fit my aesthetic were WAY out of my (non-existent) budget. I settled on some basic laminate tops thinking I could give them a decorative treatment for now and replace them down the road with something more attractive.
Out with the old, in with the new.
I added the mismatched wooden chairs we already had in storage for ticketed shows.
It was definitely more functional but unfortunately, it gave off a sad and depressing fast food restaurant vibe. 🙁
The other issue we’ve been wrestling with is improving the sound absorption in that part of the cafe. The front of the room is full of upholstered furniture, area rugs, throw pillows and textured surfaces, which do a terrific job of absorbing the sound during live music performances. The back of the room has always been a problem – during shows any conversation back there is projected out into the room, often at a louder volume than the performer talking on stage. My new set up made it even worse because I removed the one area rug and the small living room arrangement and replaced them with even more hard surfaces.
Our intrepid sound tech Dave Kane was less than thrilled with me.
Sorry, Dave.
We decided to attack the problem from several angles. I added chocolate brown tablecloths and we put down some carpet runners in the aisle. It looks warmer and more welcoming and it improved the sound immediately. Fresh flowers and votives helped to dress things up, and I’ll pick up more interesting chairs as I find them.
Right now I’ve got the black paper we use for placemats at the bar on the tables so we’re not changing the linens out constantly. I’m not sure if it’s the permanent solution, but it works fine for right now.
This area still needs more soft surfaces, so this week we’re stapling carpet to the underside of the table tops and some of the chairs. It’s a clever restaurant trick I read about in Danny (Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke) Meyer’s book “Setting the Table”. Danny talks about how back in the day restaurants had carpeted floors, linens on the tables, curtains on the windows and the ceilings were lower, which did a great job absorbing sound in a busy restaurant. These days, the minimalist and industrial aesthetic that’s so popular means there are no soft surfaces to absorb sound, so normal conversation and table service can be deafening unless you do something to mitigate the noise.
Lucky for us our friend Todd works at a carpet company down the street and was able to grab a big pile of carpet scraps for our project. Because the tables will be covered, the carpet won’t show and it should make a huge difference in the sound back there. I’m also planning to make a textured wall hanging to go over the large mirror on the back wall. It seems to be permanently affixed, so I can’t easily take it down.
I gained a couple of seats with the change, but it will work out to be a bigger net gain because we often had 2 people sitting at one of the big tables with the other 4 stools sitting empty. The smaller individual tables will eliminate that problem completely.
In the front of the cafe, we brought in a vintage buffet/sideboard to sit next to the bar.
We had to find a place to put our coffee station because during the day it used to sit on one of the high tops that we got rid of, plus it makes more sense to have it close to the bar and next to the bakery case rather than tucked in the back. I also wanted a permanent spot for a merch table during shows, and this is the location our touring artists seemed to prefer. During the day you’ll find cream and sugar here (plus copies of our monthly calendar – be sure to pick one up!) and at night it turns into a merch display when we need it. It’s a much better spot for both and has the added bonus of storage for extra coffee supplies.
The area rug from the back moved up here, and I changed out the two round tables from regular height to bar height.
There really wasn’t enough clearance between the sofa and the bar to have chairs around the tables and it got super congested once we got more than 20 people in the room. I tried to make it work in an effort to squeeze in more seating, but I was never happy with how it looked or worked, plus it was impossible for the girls to get into the area to check on customers or clear dishes. The new set up creates a standing area that still has a place to set down a drink along with easier access to the bar from that side.
The metal barstools have been relegated to the storage pod until we figure out how to make our outdoor patio happen, so the only thing left is to augment the 5 upholstered barstools we already have with about 5 more. I am on the hunt!
On the outside of the building, I filled our flower boxes with bright yellow and orange annuals…and the very next day someone stole one of the marigolds.
Son of a…
The missing marigolds have been replaced and the flowers are a bright and happy shot of color on our drab little street. I’m hoping to add some groupings of big pots around the front of the building as time and money allow…loaded with cement blocks, of course. 😉
The room will be a work in progress for the next few months…sometimes the best-laid plans don’t make sense once you see how people are actually using a space in real life. But this works for now, so I’m turning my energy to our possible patio project.
We hope you like our latest updates, and we’ll see you soon!
