Does anyone still make commercial restaurant furniture in the USA?  Richardson Seating of Chicago, IL still makes its furniture in house just like it did back in 1975.

You have probably seen Richardson’s commercial bar stools and commercial chairs many times before.  Richardson’s furniture has a certain signature looks.  If you see tight button tufting with a criss cross pattern on an upholstered restaurant bar stool, there is a good chance that Richardson made it.  If you see restaurant furniture with decorative nail head trim and luxurious upholstery, it is probably a Richardson.

Richardson Seating doesn’t have salespeople, so they rely on word of mouth.  According to one of the owners, Ira Lichtenstein, “After 45 years of manufacturing furniture, we have developed a nice base of customers who give us repeat business.  Once a restaurant chain tries us, we usually have a customer for life.

Now with Covid, Richardson faces new challenges with restaurants being closed and social distancing in place in Illinois.  In order to adapt, Richardson changed its whole factory around and took its products off websites like Wayfair and Amazon.  Richardson did this so it could focus on its core competencies which are sewing and decorative upholstery.  After the crises, Richardson hopes to return to its previous levels of sales and employees.

Richardson Seating is the premier manufacturer of upholstered restaurant bar stools.  Richardson owns a 75,000 square foot factory in Chicago, IL where it operates a wood shop, metal shop, and upholstery shop.  The company was founded in 1975 and their current catalog looks almost identical to their first catalog back in 1975.  All the products that Richardson Seating manufactures are commercial grade and Made in the USA.  They are built to be used in restaurants, hotels and bars.

If you are interested in new furniture from Richardson Seating or just want to get some more information, please contact Ira Lichtenstein [email protected].