In getting ready to start work on my new dining room, so I am in the market for tables/chairs/booths. Does anyone know where I can get used dining room furniture? I am looking for about 60 seats. I know new I can get for about $3k. I would like to cut that number in half. ANy suggestions greatly appreciated.
Have you treid asking your local (or near by) reastraunt supply co? 9.9 times out of 10 they will know what’s available out there.
haarvik I understand the money might be tight but if you are going to add a dining room it has to be new when you open it…Money saved on furnishings now will cost you in the future as you have lost the opportunity to make a good 1st impression…You can hide used stuff in the back end but on the front end it is not a wise thing to do…
I agree with royster…we bought some 25 used from a place going out of business and within 4 months we had to spend $800 to get them repaired…8 months later we bought new ones…what a waste!
Very prudent and patient shoppers can find good used chairs. You gotta be committed to buying only GOOD chairs. I got 35 used oak chairs from a salvage store (came from some Starbucks stores remodeling in Atlanta Area). $10 apiece three years ago, and still pumping strong (new retail each is $45 to $60). Got some more last year that aren’t quite as pristine, but still great price at $13 apiece. they are heavy, all wood, and no loose bolts/screws. Not a wobble on any of them.
Shop hard and be extremely demanding before letting go of your money. You can get deals that pay out huge.
I went to an auction last week and got some NICE chairs. Black metal with grey naugahide seats. Very nice chairs and in great shape. Most of them look new, especially since they came from a 3 month old restaurant! Paid $7 each for 77 of them! Going to look at tables on Wed.
Black metal with grey naugahide seats
I’m not sure if naughide is like fabric but when we bought our restaurant they had some great chairs but the “leather” was a bit wore out. I went to the local fabric store and bought sheets of leather and and re did them. It was so easy to do and they look brand new. Also at etundra you can buy the chair glides cheap.
As for your tables…we bought some bases at an auction and used some that were in the restaurant…painted em black and made oversized tables and covered them. My husband used a router(?) and made them look good. But I wondered when we were done if we really saved all that much when you think of the time we invested. (Our original restaurant has the same tables we made 13 years ago…still look fabulous.) So to each his own.
We also made our own booths at location number one. They have lasted forever. The first one was very hard to make but the rest were pretty easy. We stained and glossed them…still look good all these years later. Boy was money tight back then. :lol:
Good luck to ya…I know you mentioned wanting to have a more “upscale” dining room so keeping that in mind you may want to check restaurant equip places and see if you can find some “gently used”
How long do you plan on spending before it is up and running?
I bought used furniture for my new store BUT we were taking the tables and stripping them down, painting them black and putting memorabilia on them and then coating with clear resin it looks AWSOME!!
new chairs though and I had the local auto shop reupholster my booths I figured i saved 2000.00
I am hoping to be open the second week of January. Of course this will all depend on our fire marshal. He tends to take his time getting things inspected. Also when I mention upscale, I am referring more to linen tablecloths/napkins and the place settings. Of course the decor will also reflect this.
The Naugahyde is a leather look alike. That’s what most booths/chairs are covered with. If I can’t find decent tables at a decent price, I may just make my own (I make furniture as a hobby). Of course by doing that it will take more time so it will delay the opening. If you saw the quality of restaurants we have in town, you would see that just by doing the linens and nice table settings will make my place look like a royal ballroom!
I also have the luxury of having my wife work for Southbend. I had one of their restaurant designers look at the space, and gleaned a lot of advice from him as well. Thanks to him, I am getting a dishwasher for free, my silverware for free and my china/glasses at cost. Once I decide to do a full blown kitchen (grill, fryer, etc), it will also be free. As it stands right now, I do all of their catering 
They love me!
Wow good for you. Keep us posted on how things are going.
Kris