ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Awnings and Canopies

Protect Diners, Grow Profits with Enclosures

The restaurant industry has always operated on a shoestring budget. When COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, restaurant owners and operators had to stretch budgets even further. The pandemic—and its necessary social distancing—required owners to rethink how to serve their customers, keep staff and patrons safe, and generate profit. The past 17 months haven’t been easy. With severely diminished profits—restaurants have struggled to pay their bills. According to a new survey from the Alignable Research center, nearly 40% of restaurants couldn’t pay June’s rent this year. While a slight improvement over the 49% of restaurants struggling to make rent in May, the picture remains stark for this industry in recovery. In June 2021, Congress sent an amendment to the floor that

Consumers Want Curbside, Outdoor Dining to Stay in 2021

A recent National Restaurant Association survey found 83% of diners aren’t eating in person at restaurants as often as they’d like, up from 45% pre-pandemic. Many restaurants, including chains like Denny’s, Red Robin, and Texas Roadhouse, added — and plan to keep — outdoor dining. Other restaurants have developed and promoted more creative experiences for their customers including wine tastings and cooking lessons. Learn more!

Restaurant Sign Ideas: 4 Ways to Create Memorable Signage

Grab the attention of potential customers and show off specials with a unique outdoor restaurant sign. We give 4 tips for creating eye-catching signage!

A Functional AND Attractive Sign Project

Whenever a client requests a sign that’s a little different from the norm, the Metro Sign team gets excited. We love a good challenge! Workers Credit Union, in Littleton, MA, needed interior and exterior signs for its new headquarters and office. We partnered with general contractor Nauset Construction Corporation to create the signage package, which included a unique canopy sign. The first challenge: The canopy sign had to sit on top of a custom steel and glass canopy, which certainly limited how we could safely attach it. The second challenge: It had to look great not just from the front, but from the back, too, because it was clearly visible from a second floor conference room whose windows overlooked the

Here in New England, we live with the extremes: from the cold and wind of Nor’easters to the heat and glaring sun of the summer These weather extremes are an excellent reason why awnings and enclosures can be so valuable: reduce your energy costs and save you money. When calculating the return on investment for awnings or enclosures though, in addition to this reduction in costs, there is an even bigger benefit: they increase your revenue by increasing your selling space. Read on to learn how. Enclosures Grow Revenue and Brand All Year We help many businesses, such as hotels, restaurants and stores, by creating enclosures that help provide weatherproofing to their outdoor areas. The enclosures can aid in increasing

Awning enclosures are a great addition to any business or restaurant. Not only do awnings provide an aesthetically pleasing upgrade the outside of your storefront, they can also save your business money when it comes to businesses maintenance expenses and heating and cooling costs. Besides the advertising boost an awning or enclosure provides, investing in an awning, canopy or other type of enclosure often means gaining several operational advantages that can help you grow your business. Below we highlight some of the operational advantages of awnings, canopies and enclosures. How Awnings Enhance Safety Whatever the weather, having an awning installed outside your business can improve safety and comfort for both your customers and employees. Awnings and enclosures provide a barrier

So it’s summer, and your customers want to sit in the shade. Remember January? We were excited to install a vestibule at the South Boston (Berkely Street) Area4 restaurant. The smart and energy-efficient enclosure was welcome, as it protected patrons from the Arctic blast that blew in each time the main door was open. Awnings and enclosures may not be top-of-mind when you think about exterior signage, but few investments in your business have such an obvious pay-back period. Particularly in the New England climate, exterior structures can pay off quickly, thanks to extending your hours into the evening, adding additional seating, and keeping your customers happy and comfortable, protected from the elements. Custom-designed, high-quality awnings provide additional patio seating for restaurants and encourage

Tips for Getting the Best Commercial Awning for Your Business

Some signage manufacturers don’t do awnings. We do. Some stick with just the basics. We do a little more. If you’re in the market for a new awning, enclosure, or canopy for your business, we invite you to contact us to discuss your plans, needs, branding and budget. Call us at 978-851-2424 or send us a note about your business plans. Looking for Awning Ideas? Below are some of our most popular posts and publications on awnings and enclosures. If you have questions about size or fit, durability, installation, maintenance, cost, or something else, please contact us. With more decades of experience in commercial signage, storefront awnings and service enclosures, we can help you accurately determine what is the best investment for you and your business. And warranties?

When we’re talking about awnings and canopies, size, shape, design, and materials matter. Although they are designed for practical purposes, awning and canopies also add interest and eye-catching appeal to buildings and entrances. Awning Shapes, Canopy Designs Shed and waterfall awnings are what most people think of when they think of as traditional awning shapes. Alternatives to the most traditional awning shapes include concave, elongated dome, gable designs, and other “artistic” awnings that function as design features, especially on otherwise unremarkable building architecture. Designed to Demand Attention, Built to Last Likewise, while common canopy styles are functional and offer a clean visual element, more elaborate styles can serve special purposes. For example, cantilevers, multigon, and sail shapes lend themselves to

In a typical building, the glass entry doors and any adjacent windows create more opportunity for unwanted energy loss (in winter) and gain (in summer) than any other structural element. During the summer, for example, a single square foot of unshaded glass can allow more energy into a building than an 8′ x 10′ insulated wall. That’s a big reason why, as we’ve noted here, designers and business- or building-owners are looking more frequently toward adding new entry awnings at key traffic and visibility locations. Once installed, high-quality awnings help limit the location’s energy gain and loss every day and night, and do this during their considerable service lifetime. As a result, their benefits work out to be extremely cost-effective.