Restaurant Booth & Banquette Spec Sheet: What an RFQ Needs

What goes on a booth and banquette spec sheet

A restaurant booth or banquette spec sheet should state the run lengths and configuration, five seat and back dimensions, the frame, foam, and fill, the cover and its fabric direction, the base and any power, the flammability standard, and the quantity. With those lines on the sheet, every bidder prices the same booth, and a manufacturer can return a firm quote on the first pass.

The sections below take each line in turn, with typical figures from our banquette and booth dimensions guide. They are planning starting points, not code; accessibility clearances belong to your design team.

Dimensions: the five numbers to call out

Call out seat height, usable seat depth, overall bench depth, back height above the seat, and back angle as five separate numbers, alongside the run lengths from your floor plan. Typical starting points for dining-height seating:

For counter- and bar-height booths, take the finished surface height and subtract 10–12 inches: a bar-height booth bench at a 42-inch surface sits at about 30 inches. Corners, curves, and double-sided runs are drawn from your plan; plan an inside corner as roughly one diner, not the full length it measures.

Frame, foam, and fill

State the frame construction, the foam density and fill, and the flammability standard the fills must meet, or ask the manufacturer to specify the density to the use and show it on the drawing. Higher-density foam generally lasts longer under commercial use, and a fast-turnover booth is filled for constant cycling rather than a long sit.

Trend builds on hardwood frames with foams and fills that meet TB 117-2013, the federal flammability standard for upholstered furniture nationwide since June 25, 2021, under 16 CFR part 1640; see what TB 117-2013 covers. Put the base on the sheet too, along with any show-wood, metal base, toe-kick, or integrated power or USB, since each adds material and finishing.

Cover: vinyl, fabric, or COM

Name the cover (coated vinyl, a performance woven, or leather), its abrasion rating and cleaning code, and who supplies it; with COM or COL you supply it, and the manufacturer confirms the yardage before you order. Vinyl and coated fabrics wipe clean and suit high-traffic booths, performance wovens give a warmer look where cleanability is still adequate, and many projects put a wipeable seat under a woven back.

The Association for Contract Textiles’ guidelines put commercial high-traffic abrasion at 30,000 Wyzenbeek double rubs or 40,000 Martindale cycles, with a separate, higher figure for coated fabrics such as most booth vinyls, and hospitality specs commonly ask for 100,000+ double rubs; confirm the rating with your textile supplier. For COM, budget roughly 1–3 yards of 54-inch goods per linear foot of banquette, depending on back height and whether the outside back is upholstered; the COM yardage chart has the full table.

State the fabric direction as well. On any run over about four and a half feet, either specify railroaded goods or approve the seam layout on the drawing; velvets, chenilles, and directional patterns generally cannot be railroaded.

ADA clearances to mark on the plan

The 2010 ADA Standards regulate the dining surface and the route to it, not the bench: at least 5% of seating and standing spaces at dining surfaces must be accessible, at 28–34 inches high with knee clearance beneath, about 30 by 48 inches of clear floor space, and accessible routes generally 36 inches wide. A fixed booth with benches on both sides generally cannot serve a guest who remains in a wheelchair, so plans extend the table past the booth end, pair a banquette with movable chairs, or provide the accessible positions at nearby tables.

Mark the accessible positions on the plan you send. This is orientation, not code advice: your architect and the authority having jurisdiction confirm the requirements, and California layers Title 24 on top of the federal standard. Trend builds to the dimensions on your approved drawings; ADA restaurant seating clearances has the published figures.

What the shop drawing shows

The shop drawing shows the booth as it will be built, with every dimension, the construction, the materials and COM yardage, and the fabric direction, and nothing is cut until you approve it. On a banquette that means the run lengths, the five seat and back dimensions called out separately, the base, the cover with its direction and seam layout, and the yardage or hide count you order against.

You mark it up, we revise, and you approve; approved drawings and fabric receipt start the 4–10 weeks of production. Our sample shop drawings (ZIP) are three real drawings with client details removed.

How to send the RFQ

Send the floor plan, the spec sheet, and the quantities with your date and delivery city, and a firm, itemized quote comes back in about 2 business days, priced per linear foot, with shop drawings to approve before we cut. For several pieces, the RFQ template (Excel) has one row per item.

Purchasing teams running a whole package can start with FF&E and procurement, and a booth or chair that has to match an existing piece or a spec photo is quoted from photos and sizes; see custom to match. Booths and banquettes are upholstered by hand in our Los Angeles factory and assembled in the USA, in 4–10 weeks from approved shop drawings and fabric receipt. Carton packing is included, and freight from Los Angeles is quoted to your ZIP as its own line.