Brewery and Taproom Furniture: Specifying for a Room That Moves

A taproom is not a restaurant with beer. The floor plan changes every week, guests stand as often as they sit, the concrete is unforgiving, and someone rearranges everything for a release night. Furniture that works in a fine dining room will not last a year in one.

Plan for the room to be rearranged

This is the requirement that separates taprooms from everything else. If the furniture cannot be moved quickly by one staff member, it will be dragged, and dragging is what destroys chairs and floors.

• Specify stackable seating from the start. Most of our stackable frames go 4 to 8 high. Retrofitting stackability is impossible — it is a frame decision. See stackable seating and our stacking guide.
• Check glides on day one and keep spares. On concrete and polished floors a missing glide gouges the floor and grinds the leg. Glides are the part that disappears.
• Watch the weight. A chair light enough to reset a room fast is worth more here than one that looks substantial.
• We do not offer ganging hardware as standard, but we can customise a product if your layout needs linked rows for events.

Communal tables and the bar run

Long communal tables are the format most taprooms want, and they change the maths. Allow roughly 24" of table edge per guest and about 30" of depth. A communal table gets loaded unevenly — eight people on one side for a tap takeover — so the base has to be wide and heavy enough not to tip when the load is all on one edge. Anything 30" x 48" or larger usually wants a bar-style or double-pedestal base rather than a single column. See table bases.

At the bar itself, get the heights right: a 42" bar takes 29–30" bar stools, a 36" counter takes 24–26" counter stools. Our height guide covers how to measure an existing bar properly.

Backless stools are worth considering for a busy bar run. They tuck fully under the bar, take less floor space per guest, and are faster to move. Most backless swivel stools use a 360° mechanism; swivel stools with backs usually use an auto-return, so the stool faces the bar again when the guest leaves.

Materials for a wet, hard-wearing room

Beer gets spilled, floors get hosed, and the room runs cold in winter and humid in summer.

• Metal frames take the abuse best. Ours are welded rather than bolted, so there is nothing to work loose in a room where everything gets moved. See metal chairs and metal stools.
• Wood gives the warmth most taprooms want against concrete and steel. It is fine indoors in conditioned space — just not in an unheated production area or out on the patio.
• Upholstery, where you use it, should be a wipeable vinyl or faux leather rather than a woven fabric. Specify at least 75,000–100,000 double rubs.
• Table tops take the worst of it. Laminate is easy to replace, butcher block can be sanded and refinished, and sintered stone will outlast both. See table top materials.

The beer garden

Outdoor seating is where taprooms make their summer, and where furniture dies fastest. Poly-molded and powder-coated aluminium frames handle year-round exposure; indoor wood frames should not migrate outside for the season. Pair light outdoor chairs with weighted or bolt-down bases, because a gust moves tables before it moves anything else. See outdoor chairs and stools and the Poly-Molded All-Weather Collection.

Opening to a date

Standard production is 14–20 weeks, rush to 8–10 weeks is available on many frames, and in-stock quick ship items leave in 2–3 business days. Tell us the opening date at the first conversation, not the last — almost every timeline problem is solvable in week one and unsolvable in week twenty.

Related

Brewery furniture · Bar furniture · Lead times · Space per seat

Laying out a taproom? Contact your local sales rep or a project manager or administrator in our office. Send the floor plan and the seat count and we will work it through with you.

Furnishing a specific space? See brewery and taproom furniture, the Modern Industrial collection, and bar furniture.