Outdoor Shades Doubled this Restaurant’s Seating Capacity

If there’s one thing popular restaurants never seem to have enough of, it’s space.

The Cow: An Eatery is no exception. The Cow is in beautiful Morrison, Colorado, which is home to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Red Rocks Park. The restaurant has a busy mix of tourists and local regulars.

To make the most of their space, the owners enclosed the Cow’s back patio with fabric and plastic shades. This allowed them to add seating for about 30 customers.

It was not an unbridled success.

“We were dealing with cracked plastic windows on the old shades due to our extreme weather swings,” said David Lind, who, with wife Sherri, co-owns the restaurant. “These old fabric and plastic shades were an eyesore with all the repairs. Not to mention we had to manually roll them up and down.”

Add to that damage from a burglary and the Linds needed a new solution.

“As a restaurant located in the foothills of Morrison, Colorado, we needed something that could withstand high winds, slanting torrential rains, and, of course, snow,” Lind said. “All while making guests feel warm, dry, and safe.”

The solution suggested by Draper and dealer FutureGuard was the FlexShade® ZIP. The ZIP offers unique side channels that ensure a sealed enclosure for existing garages, porches, patios, pool houses, and outdoor commercial food service areas. Several units were installed by Ace Awnings.

“The shades—the weather barriers—are super beneficial. We are able to stay open year-round because of them,” said Amanda Cameron, assistant general manager. “In the summertime, any time we need shade we can put them down. In the wintertime, when it’s super cold, we leave them down and we get this patio heated up really nice.”

David Lind agrees the upgrade to FlexShade ZIP shades with Soltis Perform 92 Sandy Beige fabric makes a difference.

“These electronic shades proved to be far superior. We have had huge wind, rain, and snowstorms and virtually nothing penetrates the micro screen,” he said. “The screens allow guests to see through them in an effort to keep the beautiful Colorado landscape within sight. Customers are protected on our patio and, with a gas heater in the corner of the patio, the ambient temperature allows us to utilize the space in temperatures above 20°F. This is square footage that no restaurant can afford to vacate.”