No More Eating Alone With The Return Of Communal Cafe Tables

The days are long gone when communal tables were used by beer halls, tapas bars and the odd farm-to-table restaurant. Now cafes and bistros up and down the country are starting to embrace communal eating and drinking. However, up until a few years back café’s never thought that their clientele would entertain sharing an espresso with a total stranger, so why the change?

The whole cafe experience has changed

Even going back just a decade or so, a great cafe was judged solely on the quality of its coffee and home made fayre. While this is still the case it’s no longer the ‘be all and end all.’ Nowadays whether it’s a cafe, bistro, or restaurant, people go for the experience of being in a place that’s unique, that’s different, and somewhere that stands out from the crowd. Therefore it’s no longer about the crisp white tablecloth and five star service, instead it’s about being amongst others that are equally ‘in the know’. People want something different and if that means sharing a table with a random group of complete strangers, then so be it.

A communal table doesn’t have to be….well….a communal table

One of the benefits of communal tables in café’s are that they can easily be transformed into communal workspaces. Many people work in similar office environments so it’s a familiar concept to many, whereas sitting next to a random stranger who isn’t staring deep into their laptop might make some people feel a little awkward. In other words communal cafe tables can readily become that so called ‘third place’ with little or no adjustment.

Competition is fierce

Since the recession, competition is fierce and for every new cafe opening up, two will be pouring their last espressos for the final time This means that every penny and every person counts. The question is, how do you get more bums on seats when you only have limited floor space? The answer communal tables!

The truth is that communal tables are a double win for café’s and restaurants. Firstly – adding more seating means more room for customers and therefore (hopefully) more profits and secondly – a tightly packed space crammed with people creates an infectious energy which in turn draws in more customers. On top of this, and as an added bonus, customers have the opportunity to meet new friends or even a cute stranger.

Love them or hate them it seems that communal tables are here to stay – Well for the foreseeable future anyway!

If you’re looking for communal tables for your establishment then we can help. At Cafe Furniture Brisbane we have a multitude of cafe furniture available for you to browse and buy. All at great prices that won’t break the budget. Log onto our website at cafefurniturebrisbane.com.au to take a closer look. Alternatively if you’re in the Brendale area of Brisbane, then why not pop into our showroom and take a closer look first hand.