For anyone setting up a new restaurant, or even an existing one, there’s always a huge amount to think about, from budget, menus, pricing and concept through to every aspect of the lighting, décor, furniture and more. So it’s understandable that restaurant entrance mats may not be the very first thing that springs to mind when launching your eatery.
But, at UK Mats, we understand in detail the benefits of investing in entrance mats if you run a public dining facility. We supply many upscale, household-name industry brands and well-known fast-food chains across London and indeed the whole of the UK, from places like Nando’s and Subway to a number of prestigious hotels.
The key benefits of restaurant entrance matting
Among the various advantages of investing in entrance mats for your eating space, the following are some of the main pros:
#1 They give customers and others an excellent first impression
You may not appreciate that, when someone walks into your venue for the first time, floor coverings are one of the first things they’ll notice. Smart-looking entrance mats make a significant contribution to that all-important first impression.
#2 Great as a branding tool
Particularly if you choose a logo mat and brand your restaurant’s entrance mats with your business logo or other design, they can serve as a great branding tool which helps customers to remember your establishment and associate it with quality or other key brand values you may have.
#3 Extend a warm welcome to your diners
Eating out is often an intimate activity with those closest to us, and it certainly isn’t always cheap. For bigger meals, we’ll often be in the dining room for a good couple of hours or longer. So it’s important that customers feel both at home and actively welcomed. Restaurant floor coverings are a good way of doing this. Plus you can incorporate a Welcome message as well as or instead of your restaurant logo. Equally, if you’re an Italian restaurant, have a greeting in Italian – and so on.
#4 Preventing trip-and-slip hazards
Because mats do an excellent job of absorbing water, they help keep floors dry, and this makes a significant contribution to preventing trip-and-slip accidents. In the kitchen, which is obviously a wet area, and staff washrooms if you have them, rubber anti-fatigue mats are an essential health and safety feature. Likewise, in the public areas of your facility, entrance mats trap moisture so customers are much less likely to trip up. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it could potentially save your business from legal action too.
#5 Keep floors cleaner
Commercial mats are highly absorbent so soak up plenty of water. But they also collect dirt and grime from people’s shoes. That means that, ultimately, they do a great job of keeping floors shinier and cleaner. In turn, this also saves you money on mat cleaning costs, while giving your restaurant a smarter look. And, of course, no one wants to see grubby floors somewhere they’re having their dinner!
#6 A more stylish appearance overall
Entrance mats can seriously enhance the overall look of your eatery, vastly improving its décor and styling. Again, that’s particularly the case if you invest in branded logo entrance mats for your facility.
#7 Add warmth and atmosphere
Mats and rugs add warmth and atmosphere whatever the setting. But this is especially true in a restaurant environment where, as mentioned above, it’s important to extend a warm welcome. What’s more, you can particularly enhance the overall feel of your eatery if you use a colour scheme that complements your existing décor and branding, or opt for an interesting material such as coir matting.
Should you have mats inside or outside your restaurant?
If you’re wondering whether your restaurant entrance matting should go inside or outside, in truth, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ about this, since each option has its own pros and cons.
Some restaurants opt to have one mat outside and another one inside, but really it depends on whether your entrance matting will be sheltered from the elements if placed outside, and whether your restaurant has an outdoor area, which then makes it likelier you’ll need to have floor coverings outside as well as inside.
An exterior entrance mat will help to keep the mats inside your venue cleaner, and this in turn will help keep your floors safer and cleaner.
Talk to UK Mats about restaurant floor mats
At UK Mats, we’re specialists in mat rental and hire services and can manufacture and supply rental entrance mats for your restaurant or chain of eateries, including rubber-backed mats and logo mats that can be branded to match your brand and decor.
At the same time, we also offer industrial rubber anti-fatigue kitchen mats for wet areas in commercial and restaurant kitchens, to help keep employees comfortable and enhance health and safety in kitchens. This range of industrial mats for the hospitality industry includes anti-fatigue matting and health and safety products.
Our mat rental service includes regular cleaning and replacement with fresh mats, so your restaurant’s entrance mats will always look and perform their best! Our mat rental service is also available for our wet area mats.
Speak to us today and we’ll be happy to give you a quote and answer any questions.
