For a café, restaurant, pub, shop or other customer-facing business, the space immediately outside your premises can be far more important than it first appears.
A sunny pavement, terrace or beer garden can attract customers during good weather, but without suitable shade it can quickly become uncomfortable. Equally, an attractive shopfront helps a business stand out and makes an important first impression before someone has even walked through the door.
A professionally installed commercial awning can help with both.
South Yorkshire Awnings supplies and installs made-to-measure commercial awnings across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham and surrounding areas, helping businesses create practical, attractive outdoor areas designed specifically for their premises.
Could an awning help you use more of your available space?
Space is valuable for almost every business.
For pubs, cafés and restaurants, an existing terrace, courtyard or outdoor seating area may already be there – but how often can customers comfortably use it?
An awning can provide shade on hot sunny days while also offering useful protection when the weather is less predictable. Rather than leaving tables exposed, a carefully planned commercial awning can make the area considerably more inviting.
That can be particularly useful for:
- cafés with pavement seating
- restaurants with terraces
- pubs and beer gardens
- hotels and hospitality venues
- garden centres and visitor attractions
- shops wanting shade over windows or entrances
The important point is that the awning should be designed around how your business actually uses the space.
Projection, width, orientation, fixing position and the movement of the sun all need considering rather than simply choosing an awning based on its appearance.
Your shopfront is advertising your business all day
Commercial shading is not only about outdoor seating.
For retailers and businesses occupying traditional premises, an awning can become an important part of the appearance of the building.
A traditional shop awning can suit independent shops, cafés, delicatessens, bakeries, salons and other high-street businesses particularly well.
Choose the right fabric and frame colour and it can complement the character of the building. Add a professionally signwritten valance and the awning also reinforces the name of the business whenever it is extended.
It is a practical piece of shading that can also become part of your branding.
Modern retractable awnings can create a very different look, making them equally suitable for contemporary restaurants, offices and commercial developments.
There isn't one commercial awning that suits every building – which is why we believe the starting point should always be the premises themselves.
Shade can be important inside the building too
Large windows are great for bringing natural light into cafés, restaurants, offices and showrooms, but direct sunlight can also create glare and uncomfortable areas close to the glass.
External shading stops much of that direct solar gain before it reaches the window.
For businesses with south or west-facing glazing, positioning an awning above the windows can therefore have benefits both outside and inside the premises.
It is another reason why a site visit is useful. We can look at the orientation of the building, the area requiring shade and how an awning could work as part of the property rather than treating it simply as an accessory.
Motorisation makes sense for busy commercial premises
On a busy trading day, nobody wants a member of staff repeatedly winding a large awning in and out.
Motorised operation allows the awning to be extended or retracted quickly, making it much easier to react to changing conditions.
Depending on the system chosen, additional controls and sensors can also be considered.
For a café opening early in the morning, a restaurant preparing for lunchtime service or a pub getting its outside area ready for the evening, that convenience can make a significant difference to day-to-day use.
What happens when the sun goes down?
For hospitality businesses in particular, the usefulness of an outdoor area shouldn't necessarily end as daylight disappears.
Commercial awnings can be specified with options such as integrated LED lighting and outdoor heating, helping create a more comfortable atmosphere during cooler evenings.
Think about a restaurant terrace on a September evening or a pub garden when the temperature begins to fall.
Shade may have been the reason for installing the awning initially, but lighting and heating can help turn the same area into somewhere customers can continue to enjoy later in the day and during more of the year.
Made to measure means more than choosing the width
Commercial installations can often be more challenging than domestic ones.
There may be signage to work around, unusual brickwork, limited fixing positions, large areas requiring coverage or structural considerations specific to the building.
This is where professional surveying becomes particularly important.
The awning needs to be correctly positioned and securely fixed, and suitable fixing points should be considered as part of the installation rather than as an afterthought.
At South Yorkshire Awnings, our commercial awnings are made to measure and professionally installed, with the specification developed around the individual property and the way the awning will be used.
Awning or canopy – which does your business need?
Sometimes an awning isn't actually the best answer.
If you mainly want flexible shade that can be extended when required and retracted when not needed, an awning could be ideal.
If your priority is more permanent weather protection over an entrance, walkway or defined area, a commercial canopy may be more appropriate.
That is why it is worth discussing what you are trying to achieve rather than starting with a particular product.
We can advise on both commercial awnings and canopy solutions and help identify which approach is better suited to your premises.
Commercial awnings across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham
South Yorkshire has everything from historic high streets and traditional pubs to contemporary restaurants, offices and retail developments.
Each requires a slightly different approach.
South Yorkshire Awnings provides commercial awning solutions throughout Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham and the surrounding areas, including modern retractable awnings, traditional shop awnings and bespoke commercial shading.
Whether you're planning a new outdoor seating area, updating a tired shopfront or simply wondering whether an unused space could work harder for your business, we're happy to take a look.
Planning a commercial awning for your business?
The best place to start is with the building.
We can assess the available space, suitable fixing positions and the type of shading you need before discussing size, fabrics, operation and optional extras.
Contact South Yorkshire Awnings to arrange a free, no-obligation site visit and quotation for your business.
Call 01302 985982 or visit our Commercial Awnings page to find out more.