Liven Up Your Bar's Backyard Space for Nighttime Ambiance

Posted on: 4 January 2017

If you have a bar and have access to a backyard space for customers, then you should take advantage of it and turn your bar into a hot spot for people who like drinking under the stars. However, you can't simply set out some tables and chairs and expect to attract a crowd. People could drink in their own backyard if that was all they wanted. It's your job as a bar owner to make sure the outside space is as inviting as the inside and looks like a fun place for customers to come. Here's what you should do to transform your outdoor space into a nighttime hot spot.

Outdoor Speakers

You want the space to have music. This will help unite the flow between indoors and outdoors. If someone is getting a drink inside and likes the song that is being played, they will be disappointed when they walk outside into the quiet. Make sure that you bring in an audio tech who can hook up speakers that will connect your bar's stereo system to outdoor speakers. This is especially important if you have a DJ. People who show up for the DJ want to hear music even though they might like to sit outside.

Podium with Outdoor Point-of-Sale System

An outdoor podium with a POS computer system is essential. You want your waiters and waitresses to be able to take drink orders and place them with the bar without having to run back and forth. This way, you can always have one waiter outside. They can take the drink orders from the tables and then enter them into the computer. Then, when the service bartender has the drinks ready, an indoor waiter can bring the drinks outside.

LED Rope Lights

You need to light up the space, but you want to do it subtly. The last thing your customers want is some high-voltage light affixed to the rear wall of your bar. A very cool solution is to set up LED rope lights around the space. You can string the lights across the space from the rear wall of the restaurant to fence posts across the seating area. This will create a canopy of light effects. If you have tables with umbrellas, then you could twist the LED lights around the umbrella poles and also have them fringe the umbrella. Finally, you could also string lights across the fence that encloses the backyard.

Chinese Lanterns

You will need some large sources of light. A nice way to get that light is to get large Chinese lanterns. You could choose the lantern light to be the same color as the LED rope lights. This will help tie together the look of the space and also provide soft light so that people don't trip over themselves.