Wholesale Restaurant Chairs in Almaty: How to Order Correctly

Buying chairs is one of the highest-stakes line items when opening a restaurant. Mistakes are expensive: overpaying on delivery, getting the wrong colour, or discovering the seat height doesn't match your tables are all common, real scenarios. SANDALUCI has furnished more than 60 venues across Kazakhstan, and we know exactly where things typically go wrong. This is a practical guide to ordering correctly.

Step 1: Get the Quantity Right

Standard rule: one chair per seat, plus a 10-15% reserve. The reserve covers breakage, wear, and peak days when you add extra tables. For 80 seats, order 90-92 chairs. Count your bar zone separately — bar stools differ in height and construction from dining chairs and are a separate line item. For Ermitazh in Almaty we ordered 85 dining chairs for 72 seats — the reserve was already in use by the first season.

Step 2: Choose the Construction

Three main types for restaurants: four-leg chairs (classic, maximum stability), sled-base chairs (modern, easier to clean floors around, but take up more space), and pedestal-base chairs (a metal central foot, common in coffee shops, allows a free approach from any side). For most restaurants we recommend a four-leg steel frame — it forgives uneven floors and handles side loads better than the alternatives. Sled-base chairs work only if your floors are genuinely level.

Step 3: Check Compatibility With Your Tables

Standard dining table height is 74-76 cm, and standard chair seat height is 44-48 cm. The gap between them should be 27-32 cm — that's the ergonomic standard. Measure your tables before ordering chairs. Non-standard tables (72 cm or 80 cm) change what chair you need. At Sultan Saray in Shymkent, the client ordered chairs without checking first — the custom tables turned out to be 79 cm tall, and standard 45 cm chairs were uncomfortable. A new batch with a 52 cm seat had to be ordered.

Step 4: Choose the Right Upholstery

For restaurants with heavy menus (soups, sauces, wine), faux leather is close to mandatory — it wipes clean in 30 seconds. Fabric should carry a Martindale rating of 50,000+ cycles minimum. Genuine leather looks great but is costly to maintain and cracks under frequent sanitiser use. On colour: dark tones hide marks better, light tones photograph better. At Ziyafet on Zheltoksan we used dark chocolate faux leather — after two years of intensive use it still looks new.

Step 5: Request the Documentation

Before signing, request: a technical data sheet for the model (load ratings, strength testing), a fabric certificate (composition, Martindale rating, OEKO-TEX® status), written warranty terms, and a list of reference sites where the model has been running for 2+ years. A genuine supplier provides all of this without delay. Refusal to provide documentation is a red flag.

Step 6: Lock Everything Into the Contract

The specification is a contract appendix listing article numbers, colours (RAL or Pantone for custom orders), dimensions and quantities. Without a clear specification, you risk receiving something "similar, but not quite." Include: exact delivery dates, penalties for delay (1-2% of the batch value per week), the process for resolving warranty claims, and the right to refuse goods that don't match the approved sample.

FAQ: Wholesale Restaurant Chair Orders

What quantity counts as wholesale? At SANDALUCI, wholesale terms start at 20 units of one model, with discounts from 50 units. Can I mix models in one order? Yes, with a minimum of 10 units per model in a mixed order. What warranty applies? 2 years on the metal frame, 1 year on upholstery. Is there a showroom in Almaty? Yes — a portion of the range is available from stock with 3-7 day delivery; the rest is made to order in Turkey, 45-65 days.