The WHY and HOW of Booths

Why Booths?

• In addition to more privacy and comfort, booths tend to add warmth (and revenue) to the front of the house.
• Booths are available in single, double, 1/2 circle, 3/4 circle, anmd wall benches. Using a wall bench with small tables allows easy conversion from couple settings to large parties.
• Booths can be more costly initially, but they are often a better investment in the long run. The square inches of floor space used for a 4 person booth is just over 3,000, while the square inches for a 4 person table can exceed 5,000. The equates to 30% more revenue per seating in a packed house.

Booth Space Layout

• A standard layour allows the trable edte to align vertically with the outer edge of the booth seat. This provides a comfortable 16-18" seating depth.
• If using 30" wide tables, then booths require 72" from center to center of top caps.
• If using 24" wide tables, the space between the booths can be reduced to 66" between teh center of top caps.
• Note: Cantilever bases are recommended when using 24" tables with booths. Standard table baases limit the clearance between the booths and column to 10.5" when using a 24" table in a booth seating.
• Shading representing 10" plates is shown on the diagram below.

What about Aisles and Tables?

Aisle Widths

• Wait staff aisles can be 24" to 30", with service/main aisles 36".
• Allow square inches per seat for:
  • Banquet (Close seating): 96-120 sqin/person.
  • Casual Dining: 120-144 sqin/person.
  • White Tablecloth (Spacious Seating): 144-168 sqin/person
• Shading representing 10" plates is shown on the diagram below.

Table Sizes/Space Notes:

• The architectural standard for dining suggests that 300 square inches table space be allower per diner.
• 24" table width is a minimum, suitable for a diner. 30" is teh standard width. Family dining with platters in the center should consider 36" widths.
• Note, in a booth, that 24" table's column only allows 10.5" for the patron's feet as they slider over. Cantilever Bases are recommended for booths with 24" table widths.
• Shading representing 10" plates are shown on the diagrams below.

Standard Booth Dimensions

Single Upholstered Booth Upholstery Dimensions

Double Upholstered Booth Upholstery Dimensiosn

Single Wood Booth Dimensions

What about Corners and Circles?

Some Rules of Thumb

• 14 SqFt Per Person - Spacious Dining
• 12 SqFt Per Person - Cafeteria or Restaurant Dining
• 9-10 SqFt Per Person - Banquet, Institutional, or Close Seating
• 8-10 SqFt Per Person - Contour Seating (lower SqFt will require wall panels)
• 12-14 SqFt Per Person - Cluster Seating