One of the most effective ways to attract more guests to your restaurant, build customer loyalty and increase profitability is to build a world-class patio experience for your restaurant. 

Outdoor patio spaces allow your restaurant to seat more guests, enhance the guest experience and gain a competitive edge. All of this leads to higher profit margins and more customers. 

Not only does this help you increase revenue during the warmer months, but it can also ensure that your Western Canada-based restaurant is able to stay open even during COVID-19 periods of restrictions.

However, easy access to outside patios can make them attractive targets for thieves and vandals. That’s why your restaurant security needs to be top notch when you introduce a patio area to your business. 

To help you develop an effective security solution for your restaurant and ensure your patio is safe from the threats of thieves and vandals, we’ve listed a few key security best practices that will help you protect your furniture, equipment, and other assets from criminals: 

One of the best ways to prevent theft and vandalism is to lock up your patio furniture, equipment and décor at night. This may mean moving it into your restaurant or a secure outbuilding like a garage or shed. 

Understandably, however, not all restaurants have the time or manpower to move furniture back and forth every evening and morning - especially when there’s a huge workforce shortage happening within the industry right now. 

If this is the case, you can focus on moving smaller items that are easy to break and/or move, such as pillows, vases, potted plants, umbrellas and trash cans, inside. You can then help protect larger items by securing them with padlocks and steel cables. This will prevent thieves from moving items, though it may still leave them at risk of vandals. 

Criminals operate at night because the darkness can cover up much of their activity. By installing motion sensor lights, you can help deter criminal activity by bringing attention to your property. In many cases, this is enough to scare off thieves and vandals. 

The layout of your restaurant patio tables should not only enhance the customer experience while dining, but also promote security. Here are a few things to consider when designing your patio layout with security in mind:

• Consider having a gate that people must enter through to reach the patio area.
• Ensure any non-permanent items are light enough to carry indoors each night. Potted plants, tables, chairs are all examples of furniture that you might want to consider moving into a locked area when your restaurant is closed.
• Enclose your patio areas using fencing, planters or dividers. This will make it a better experience for the customer and also make it more difficult for criminals to see into, making it less enticing.

4. Implement a verified security solution

When it comes to securing your restaurant patio, the best solution is surveillance. Verified alarm surveillance is your best bet when it comes to deterring criminals from committing vandalism, theft and a multitude of other crimes. If someone is bold enough to commit a crime, surveillance will help catch the culprit. 

Verified security solutions are monitored by live security professionals 24/7. If the security system is triggered, monitoring station personnel will verify the alarm. If criminal activity is occurring, they will contact authorities and provide real time updates to reduce damage and increase the rate of apprehension. 

Because verified alarms have been authenticated, police response times are much faster. At Sonitrol, authorities respond in an average of 3.5 minutes vs the 45-minute response time of non-verified security systems. 

For additional security solutions for the interior and exterior of your bar or restaurant, contact our team of security professionals today and request a free security audit.