Floor Coatings for Restaurants & Commercial Kitchens

14.7 million Americans work in the foodservice industry. Some days, it seems like all of them serve in your restaurant. In fact, 10% of the American workforce is employed in the restaurant business, and that means a lot of employee foot traffic on dining room floors. Added to that, the average American dines out 5.9 times per week. As a result, your floors support a lot of traffic.

Keeping patrons safe is critical but so is supporting your kitchen and wait staff. Commercial kitchen floors need to withstand spills, thermal shock, and abrasions. And they must offer a slip-resistant surface that helps employees stay on their feet even when the floor is wet or greasy.

A safe floor is non-slippery and seamless. Most of the time, we recommend a ¼ inch cementitious urethane concrete coating system with a natural quartz aggregate. But to know what's best for your particular floor, we'd need to take a look at it in person.

Restaurant floors take a beating. They endure high-volume foot traffic, various spills, high and sustained moisture levels, thermal shock, dropped utensils, and heavy equipment.

Vinyl flooring will generally rip or tear not long after installation. It's too thin to bear up under heavy use. Over time, grit and grime collect between the vinyl and the substrate, eventually piercing the floor.

While extremely hard and easy to clean, ceramic tile will crack under pressure. Once it does, the cracks provide a dark fissure for mold and bacteria to thrive. Grout lines also form weak points in this kind of flooring.

With a good coating, epoxy resin floors tend to last about 5-10 years before they need to be refurbished.

In 2018 — pre-COVID — the average American was dining out 5.9 times per week. Experienced diners know what to expect from the restaurants they patronize. For these customers, a restaurant visit is about more than food. It's an entire experience that includes the ambiance of the dining room. That's true whether you operate a 5-star restaurant, a carry-out eatery, or a family-style buffet.

Flooring contributes to ambiance. The colors and finishes of your floor can reflect light, provide a warm and intimate setting, and encourage conversation among your patrons. In fact, your restaurant's floor creates as much visual impact as your place settings and table dressings. The right coating on a wood, epoxy, or quartz floor helps set the aesthetic your diners expect.

Wine glasses tip over. Plates drop from trays. And crumbs get ground under shoes. It's tough to keep a restaurant floor clean. Still, a stained or dirty floor creates an unwelcome first impression for patrons. That's why you need a stain-resistant floor coating that's easy and quick for your team to clean.

Unless you've decided to go with carpet, which presents its own set of challenges, your floor is probably composed of polished concrete, tile, hardwood, or cork if you are emphasizing your wine bar. All of these flooring types can prove visually interesting though some are easier to maintain than others — provided you use the right coating.