The must-have accessory for many businesses this winter is simple, but recently it has been difficult to find: the humble space heating.
As coronavirus cases increase and people avoid or even prevent them from congregating indoors, restaurants, hotels and office buildings are installing outdoor heating on sidewalks and patios to keep customers and renters loyal.
The effort can seem like an existential quest. Due to the surge in demand, some products are reordered for months, potentially jeopardizing the prospect of some companies surviving the pandemic intact.
"Surviving this pandemic has become like a jungle war," said Mark Barak, general manager of La Pecora Bianca, a restaurant that has adorned the outdoor areas of its three New York locations with about 70 heaters.
“I joke with my employees that I became a general contractor for outdoor restaurants. That's how I spend so much time now, ”said Barak.
Traders say they are having trouble keeping up with demand.
Gas-Fired Products, a North Carolina heater manufacturer, sells three times as many heaters as it did in 2019, said Paul Horne, the company's vice president. Products include $ 1,200 worth of closed flame versions that promise to stay lit in winds of 40 mph.
"Every opportunity people find to go to a restaurant or hang out with friends is something they will take advantage of," Horne said.
The profile of customers is changing, say providers. In the past, heaters mostly landed on backyard terraces, but are quickly becoming furniture items for commercial buildings.
A year ago companies made up 10 percent of Radtec's customers, a Texas-based distributor. Today that percentage is 50 percent, said Adam Minton, the sales director for the company, whose products include table heaters and pyramid heaters.
Interest came from several northern cities struggling with plummeting temperatures, but New York in particular is buzzing, Minton said, adding that the city went from "no market" to the company's largest over the past year .
"There is such a demand that people say," I don't care if it is lit or not. I just need warmth, ”said Minton. "They don't even ask about cost or coverage area."
For some businesses, such as restaurants, timing can be critical. With states like California and Michigan imposing business restrictions, including closing indoor restaurants, an outdoor space may offer a chance of surviving the pandemic.
"I think it's going to be a very difficult winter and a lot more restaurants are going to close," said Andrew Moger, managing director of BCD, a restaurant advisory group whose clients included Westville, Dinosaur Bar-b-que and Benihana.
The surge in demand has ruined some businesses. Large hardware retailers like Lowes and Home Depot are often out of stock, say shoppers who have combed the aisles.
"As with all retailers, we've seen high demand for many items and our retailers and supply chain teams have been working to replenish what they can," said a Home Depot spokeswoman.
Many of the outdoor heaters sold in the U.S. are made in China, which is struggling to keep up with increased interest. It used to take Chinese factories two months to fulfill Radtec's orders and now it takes three, Minton said.
However, prices for heaters, which come in propane, natural gas, or electric versions, don't seem to be rising yet, possibly because the huge volume of business allows manufacturers to keep their costs down, analysts say.
Despite its rapid deployment, propane costs are similarly stable, said Tucker Perkins, executive director of Propane Education and Research Council, a Washington-based advocacy group.
In 2019, U.S. consumers burned 284 million gallons of propane in heaters, grills, and other appliances, Perkins said. In 2020, that number is expected to almost double to 500 million gallons.
Still, these small uses are a decrease compared to consumption for the entire national market, which is roughly 10 billion gallons per year, he said.
New York, which largely banned the gas for use in commercial heat lamps until it reversed course in October to help troubled restaurants, "is now the epicenter of growth," Perkins said, at 60,000 gallons a day.
Snapping on heaters this summer, long before the winter season, appears to have been a smart move for business owners. Timely renovations also helped, said Barak of La Pecora, whose SoHo site was remodeled during the pandemic.
During construction, workers upgraded gas lines and installed cables, improvements that could be difficult to make in an already open place, he said. The renovation included wall-mounted electrical heaters as a backup and a transformer to power them.
In preparation for the opening of La Pecora late last month, Mr Barak added rows of mushroom-shaped freestanding heaters on the sidewalk of his restaurant, running on both natural gas and propane, seating 80 people outside and 40 people inside. Overall, the heat-related extras cost "a few hundred thousand dollars," he said, adding, "I don't think anyone else has more heat per seat than we do."
New York may have relaxed some heating rules, but fires continue to be a cause for concern. Companies are still not allowed to store full propane tanks on site because they fear they could cause an explosion. But heaters use roughly four gallons a day – the amount in a 20-pound tank used for most barbecues – which means restaurants with heaters that burn day and night can regularly run out of fuel.
Existing propane services were typically shut down early, leaving companies stranded with late night hours. To meet that demand, Derek Kaye, who operated a fleet of food trucks before the pandemic slowed business, switched gears this summer to start NYC Propane Delivery, a six-employee company that supplies tanks from morning to midnight every day Restaurants supplies. "Hopefully this continues," said Mr. Kaye.
The offices are also trying to make their outdoor areas more comfortable. In Industry City, a sprawling office, retail, and industrial complex on the Brooklyn coast, owners Jamestown and Belvedere Capital Real Estate Partners spent $ 1 million on heaters and tents, which were bought this summer for renters Encourage people to socialize in the alleys between the settlements of misappropriated brick buildings. There are now around 70 heaters installed, including an electric version in an existing yurt, said Kathe Chase, director of leasing at Industry City.
Of the 8,500 employees who worked at the complex before the pandemic, 50 percent still show up for work regularly, Ms. Chase said. At the same time, 500,000 square meters or 12 percent of the complex has been rented since March, she added.
"Nobody has a crystal ball about what's going to happen," said Ms. Chase. “However, this is not just a solution from Covid. We believe that people will live differently afterwards. "
But not every company can heat outdoor spaces, and some are turning to rudimentary alternatives.
Tishman Speyer, a landlord for a national office, is banned from installing heaters on some of the high-rise terraces of his Rockefeller Center because he fears the wind could make them fly. Portable heaters are also not allowed to be placed too close to walls, said Thais Galli. a Tishman executive director.
However, many of the employees who come into the office – about 15 percent of the pre-pandemic total – prefer to hold meetings on the terraces. Hence, windbreak options such as plexiglass umbrellas, rows of evergreens and plastic iglos are currently being considered, Ms. Galli said.
On One Federal Street, a Tishman skyscraper in Boston, the landlord is handing out free, disposable fleece blankets and woolen hats to those who want some fresh air on the ninth-floor turf-lined terrace, where most of the heaters are located forbidden.
"It's real work," said Ms. Galli.
