Wondering what the best glass doors are for your restaurant? You’re not alone. More business owners and designers are turning to restaurant glass patio doors as a smart way to create inviting, flexible spaces that stand up to the grind while increasing revenue. In modern restaurant design, flexibility and the guest experience are key.
Whether it’s opening up to a patio, sidewalk, rooftop, or courtyard, movable glass doors help expand seating, bring in natural light, improve airflow, and elevate the overall dining experience. Let’s explore why the right glass door system can make a big difference in how your restaurant looks, feels, and functions.
How to Select the Best Restaurant Glass Patio Doors and Why it Matters
Key Benefits of High-Quality Restaurant Glass Patio Doors
Unlike conventional alternatives, commercial-grade doors are built to withstand the grind of fast-paced business environments. High-quality, movable restaurant glass patio doors connect indoor and outdoor areas, add seating flexibility, bring in natural light, and create an open, inviting atmosphere that keeps guests returning for more.
Opening glass doors like NanaWall systems also boosts visibility from the street, drawing in curious passersby and turning foot traffic into paying customers. When all these benefits come together, they not only improve how your restaurant looks but also help increase guest satisfaction, extend dining space, and ultimately drive more revenue.
Why NanaWall Restaurant Glass Patio Doors Are the Best Option
In modern restaurant design, the right doors can shape the entire dining experience. From how a space feels to how efficiently it operates, high-quality restaurant glass patio doors can make a meaningful difference. Here are five ways the right system can enhance your restaurant:
- Built for Durability: NanaWall systems are engineered for demanding commercial use. Reinforced frames, commercial-grade hardware, and tested materials ensure long-term performance, even in high-traffic or harsh weather environments.
- Reliable Cycle Testing: Folding systems have been cycle tested for up to 20,000 cycles for effortless operation every single time. Meanwhile, swing doors have undergone up to 500,000 cycles with excellent results.
- Smooth, Easy Operation: These systems glide open and close with ease, thanks to intelligent roller systems and stainless steel tracks. Staff can operate them quickly, even during busy service.
- Custom Features: From ADA-compliant floor tracks and integrated swing doors to higher kickplates and panic hardware, NanaWall systems are packed with features that meet restaurant needs for accessibility, safety, and efficiency.
- Styles That Match Your Brand: With a wide range of materials (wood, aluminum, clad) and more than 200 powder coat colors, NanaWall doors can be customized to reflect your business brand, with the option to apply logos and distinct designs to the glass by others.
- Performance Testing: Every system undergoes independent testing at accredited labs for air, water, structural, and forced entry. Plus, operational force is tested to meet ADA standards, with systems performing under the 5lb requirement.
- Energy Efficiency: NanaWall glass patio doors are offered with double or triple glazing options for optimal comfort and insulation year-round. All systems are NFRC tested and labeled.
Selecting the Best Operable Glass Patio Doors for Your Restaurant
Selecting the ideal NanaWall opening glass doors comes down to your restaurant’s layout, design goals, and functional needs. Whether you’re opening a sidewalk café to street traffic or creating a flexible interior partition for private dining, NanaWall offers a range of commercial-rated solutions engineered for performance and flexibility.
- Folding Glass Doors: Panels fold and stack to the side like an accordion and are ideal for creating wide, open facades that connect seamlessly to patios or rooftops.
- Minimal Sliding Glass Doors: Floor-to-ceiling panels that offer a minimal, architectural look ideal for restaurants seeking maximum transparency with the largest panels available.
- Stacking Glass Doors: Individual panels glide along a single track with the panels stacking away remotely. These doors accommodate unlimited widths or curved openings and are available in frameless options.
- Frameless Glass Doors: Sleek, all-glass panels with no vertical frames. These are best for modern interiors, visual transparency, and creating elegant partitions or entryways.
Real-World Applications: Where NanaWall Restaurant Glass Patio Doors Transform Spaces
Dining in the Heart of the City at Park Detroit
Located in the heart of Campus Martius Park, Parc Detroit showcases how dynamic restaurant glass patio doors can completely transform the dining experience. Surrounded by year-round events and city energy, the restaurant uses a pair of NanaWall HSW60 exterior stacking glass walls to immerse guests in the energetic city and park bustle.
Each top-hung panel stacks cleanly out of sight, including around a 90-degree corner, allowing for seamless al fresco dining and integrated outdoor seating. During winter, the glass doors continue to offer clear outdoor views while maintaining interiors warm and comfortable.
“Being able to have all those views of the park and to incorporate all the excitement that goes on—the NanaWall systems just made sense,” says Michelle Giglio, Director of Operations. “You feel like you are dining right in the middle of the park.”
Bar Aperitivo’s Dynamic Glass Front Redefines Dining Out
David Rocco’s Bar Aperitivo knows a thing or two about attracting passersby. Located in Toronto, the restaurant offers an immersive indoor-outdoor dining experience with a bar that opens right onto the sidewalk and city nightlife. Rather than working with the existing façade of fixed glass windows, the new establishment called for a dynamic storefront that featured engaging visuals and a floor-to-ceiling NanaWall bifold glass door.
The flexible opening allows for a marble bar table to run the entire length of the opening to maximize seating space.
“No other system provided us with a proper solution,” says Rocco. “Where this table could remain fixed, and the window wall could open up on a single track and into the restaurant.”
Rooftop Dining and City Views Redefined at Fahrenheit Lounge
Perched on the 21st floor of the Hyatt in Charlotte, NC, Fahrenheit Lounge is a go-to rooftop destination for those seeking an appetizing menu, an energetic atmosphere, and stunning 180-degree skyline views. True to modern restaurant design philosophy, the destination features multiple NanaWall SL70 folding glass doors spanning across the rooftop façade.
The thermally broken systems offer exceptional weather performance and durability in the demanding rooftop environment. The result is a dynamic, all-season dining experience where guests can enjoy panoramic views without compromising comfort.
“When the walls are collapsed and they’re wide open and you see uptown Charlotte, especially during dusk or sunset, it’s just very dramatic,” says Daniel Lydia, General Manager at Fahrenheit Restaurant. “People come here just anticipating the doors opening.”
Final Thoughts
Still wondering which glass doors are best for your restaurant? The answer depends on how you want your space to function. Do you need to connect a dining room to a patio? Maximize visibility from the street? Create a flexible space that adapts with the seasons? NanaWall restaurant glass patio doors offer purpose-built solutions for all of the above, combining commercial-grade durability and performance for any modern restaurant design.
From folding glass walls that expand capacity to frameless systems that optimize interior floor plans, there’s a configuration to match your layout, brand, and long-term business goals. If your doors can work harder for your restaurant, why settle for anything less?
Looking for more restaurant design inspiration? See how other restaurants elevate the guest experience with NanaWall operable glass doors here!
