Next Generation Glass Overhead Doors—Transforming Restaurants, Pubs and Bistros

The rapid rise of glass overhead garage doors as versatile partitions for both exterior and interior commercial use is perhaps most commonly observed in the eatery business, with the now-familiar aluminum frame glass garage doors (firehouse doors, as they were originally called) replacing fixed windows and walls across the fronts of urban restaurants, large and small. ADS Automatic Door Specialists has been at the vanguard of this transformation and continues to meet new challenges with ingenuity and an experienced sense of urban design.

There are now, however, some new approaches on how to make this trend even more of an advantage for COVID-19-stressed businesses that rely on being attractive gathering places for people wanting to socialize around a dining table or bar—and do so safely. This is part of what some expect to be a long-term shift in how people socialize, especially in public places. ADS Automatic Door Specialists is again at the forefront of these important innovations.

A wide choice of ceiling-to-ground glass doors allows foot traffic directly into the restaurant, providing a seamless interface between indoor and al fresco dining. This opens up the floor (and sidewalk or patio) space both literally and subjectively, and, critically, provides a strong flow of fresh air that is so vital for COVID-19 safety. These can be creatively used to expand the dining area into a new patio that can be closed off in inclement weather or lifted fully open on multiple sides with overlapping overheads. Another glass overhead door can open up the main dining area, creating yet another passage of clean, purifying air through the restaurant. Some restaurants are creating interior greenhouse-like rooms-within-rooms, with the “walls” constructed of overhead glass doors.

For bistros or shallower venues like lunch stands, a halfway-down overhead door, and replacing a fixed window will seal the counter facing the sidewalk when the stand is closed or raised for a European-style open-air experience.

Another trendy option: A unique frameless glass overhead design provides a more sophisticated, next-generation look that is garnering a lot of attention. Expect to see many more of these shortly.

All of these options can be combined in various ways, depending on your floor space and layout, for the optimal balance of relaxed, social dining in a casual, free environment and the heightened, and perhaps permanent shift, in public awareness of the pandemic health risks that will continue through, at the minimum, most of this year. The aluminum frames and the glass can be selected to match the color scheme and reflect the overall look and character of your establishment.

ADS Automatic Door Specialists, with its years of front-line experience, can help you turn pandemic challenges into long-term assets. With careful planning, combined with informed imagination, good solutions are awaiting your discovery—all as close as dialing 858-544-5757.