Restaurant patio heaters that keep your patio working
Sales, leasing, rentals, service, and commercial patio-heating guidance — from a SoCal specialist who specs equipment for your layout, fuel source, and seating.
When the patio's cold, tables sit empty. If your outdoor seating isn't comfortable, guests move inside — or go somewhere else.
If your patio heaters aren't working, your outdoor seating isn't working. Every cold night with dead heaters is empty tables. I sell, rent, and repair commercial patio heaters for restaurants across Southern California — and I pick up the phone.
A patio heating decision affects more than warmth:
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Usable seating
How many tables you can actually sell on a cold night.
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Guest comfort
Whether diners linger at the table — or ask to move inside.
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Shoulder-season utilization
How many weeks of the year the patio earns its keep.
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How long guests stay outside
Comfortable tables turn. Cold tables walk.
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Operating consistency
No dead zones, no cold tables, no "sorry, the heaters are down" nights.
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Staff experience
Servers work the patio willingly when it's warm.
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Capital vs. monthly expense
Buy, lease, or rent — the right structure depends on the patio, not the catalog.
Heaters don't create revenue — heated patios protect it. If a comfortable patio keeps tables sellable through cold nights and shoulder season, what's that worth? Run your own numbers:
Illustrative monthly patio revenue opportunity
$12,096
How this is calculated: outdoor seats × average check × occupancy × (additional patio hours ÷ 2 per seating) × weeks per month. This is an illustrative estimate, not a forecast. It assumes a comfortable patio keeps those tables sellable — roughly two hours per turn — and it does not predict actual sales from patio heating. Your turns, weather, and menu change the math. We'll sanity-check it with you on the quote call.
To size your patio, I need:
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Approximate patio dimensions
Length × width is enough — no blueprints required.
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Number of seats
How many tables you want to keep heated.
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Photos of the space
Phone photos are perfect — wide shots beat close-ups.
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Ceiling / mounting height
Overhead structure determines what can be mounted.
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Natural gas or propane
And whether a gas line already reaches the patio.
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Freestanding vs. mounted
"Not sure" is a perfectly good answer.
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Whether heaters already exist
Brand and model if you know them — a photo works too.
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City / location
So we know the service area and local conditions.
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New construction or existing patio
Heating designed into a buildout beats retrofitting it later.
Send what you have. You don't need to know the heater model.
Multi-unit operators get one point of contact across every patio: consistent equipment, fleet pricing on quotes, and maintenance plans that cover all locations. If you're opening new units, we spec heating into the buildout from the plans.
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One vendor, every patio
Same equipment, same service standard, one phone number.
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Fleet maintenance plans
Pre-season and mid-season visits across all locations — scheduled around your operation.
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New builds & remodels
Heating designed into the patio from the drawings, coordinated with your GC.
The right heater depends on the patio — not the catalog page.
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Covered patios
Wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted units — Sunpak, Infratech — heat the space without taking a single square foot of floor. Best where there's structure overhead and a gas line to tie into. Browse commercial heaters for covered patios.
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Open patios
Freestanding propane heaters — Sunglo, Italkero — go anywhere, move with the layout, and need no infrastructure. Best for open-air dining and flexible seating. Available to rent or lease.
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Mixed spaces
Most real patios are both. We zone the space — mounted heat where it's covered, freestanding where it's open — so every table is comfortable.
Heater count, placement, and mounting — sized to your patio, not a guess.
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Straight quote
Buy, lease, or rent — clear numbers, clear timeline, no obligation.
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Supported after
Delivery, service, and parts from the same person who spec'd it.
Why restaurants call Eric
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You talk to the owner, not a call center
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Equipment spec'd for restaurant patios, not generic backyards
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48–72 hour service response
A dead heater on a Friday night can't wait until Monday.
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Fully insured
Certificates available for your venue.
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Full manufacturer warranty
Every unit covered by its factory warranty, with claims handled through us directly.
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Authorized dealer
Sunpak, Sunglo, Sunwood Marino, Italkero, Infratech, and SunStar — with brand-specific troubleshooting and parts.
Restaurant FAQ
How many heaters does my restaurant patio need?
Coverage varies by model and application. We'll size the equipment using the manufacturer's published specifications against your patio's size, ceiling height, layout, and wind exposure — then quote the right count. For coverage guidance, see how many patio heaters your patio needs.
Natural gas or propane?
If natural gas is already available at the patio, it's usually the simplest option for a permanent installation. Propane makes sense where there's no gas line, or for portable and rental setups. We'll help you determine what fits your space.
Do you install?
We spec the right equipment and facilitate installation through a licensed installer on request for final gas and electrical hookup.
Do you service heaters we already own?
Yes — including heat lamps you didn't buy from us. Request service and tell us what's happening.
Are patio heaters and heat lamps the same thing?
Yes — "heat lamp" is what most people call a patio heater, and we know exactly what you mean. Commercial heat lamps come in wall-mounted, ceiling-mounted, and freestanding models, in propane, natural gas, and electric. Tell us about the patio and we'll spec the right commercial units for your layout and fuel situation.
Need 5, 10, 20+ heaters?
Get a quote for your patio — tell us your square footage and seating and we'll tell you what you actually need. Prefer to think it through first? Plan your patio heating in five steps.
Eric the Heater Guy
