Commercial Sun Shades
A west-facing patio at six o'clock in July is not a seating problem, it is a temperature problem. Shade fabric fixes it without giving up the view or the airflow guests came outside for.
Heat Empties a Patio Faster Than Rain
Guests will sit through a drizzle. They will not sit in direct afternoon sun with a plate in front of them. On a west-facing patio that can take your best revenue hours off the table for four months a year.
Shade fabric stops the heat at the fabric instead of at your tables. Depending on which weave you specify, ours block up to 97% of the sun and its heat, and most patios feel roughly ten degrees cooler the moment the shades come down. Guests can still see out. Passers-by cannot see in during daylight. Air still moves through.
It also works in the other direction: the same shade that keeps a patio usable in August traps warmth in the shoulder seasons, and pairs with heaters when it gets genuinely cold.
What shade fabric does
- Blocks up to 97% of sun and heat, depending on weave
- Roughly a 10-degree drop the moment it deploys
- One-way daytime privacy — see out, not in
- Keeps airflow, unlike solid vinyl
- Cuts solar heat gain on the building, lowering interior cooling load
- Mildew and fade resistant; mild soap and water is the whole maintenance routine
These get called a lot of things: restaurant patio shades, commercial patio shades, restaurant outdoor shades, patio solar shades, or just a sun shade for restaurant patios. Same product — an exterior fabric screen on a track that drops in front of the opening and stops the sun before it reaches your guests.
These Pay Back Faster Than Anything Else We Sell
Sun shades are the cheapest intervention on most patios and the quickest to earn out. Across our restaurant clients:
Rope & pulley shades
Capital typically recovered in 2–3 months. The lowest-cost way to make an unusable summer patio usable again.
Motorized shades
Capital typically recovered in 6–12 months. Worth it where the shades move daily or the run is too large to hand-operate.
The math is simple: a patio that was empty from two until seven in the summer starts turning tables again. On a busy patio that is a handful of covers a day, every day, for the whole season.
Fabric, and What Each One Is For
Shade fabric is not one product. The weave determines how much sun stops, how much air moves, and whether it also keeps insects out.
Nano 97 is the high-end sun fabric — up to 97% blockage, the choice when heat and glare are the problem. Nano 50, 55, 60, and 70 are the bug screen weaves; Nano 70 is the one that stops no-see-ums, which matters on coastal and lakeside patios where nothing else will. Nano 97/99 gives maximum sun and insect protection together, at the cost of noticeably lower airflow.
Fabrics are high-quality polyester and vinyl-on-polyester, engineered to satisfy strict building codes, and built to hold up outdoors for years rather than a season.
Choosing a weave
- Nano 97 — maximum sun and heat blockage
- Nano 70 — bug screen that stops no-see-ums
- Nano 50 / 55 / 60 — general insect protection, higher airflow
- Nano 97/99 — maximum sun and bug protection, low airflow
- Motorized or rope-and-pulley operation
- Color-matched to brand or existing decor
Shades and Vinyl on the Same Opening
Most patios need two different things at two different times of year, which is why shade track and enclosure track can be mounted back to back on the same opening.
Run shade fabric through the summer for heat and glare. Swap to clear vinyl when the problem becomes cold and rain. Neither system has to come down for the other to work, and staff can change which one is deployed in seconds.
On patios where wind is the real complaint rather than sun, a windscreen is usually the more direct answer — and the two pair well.
Sun Shade Details
- Sun blockageUp to 97% depending on fabric weave
- Temperature dropRoughly 10 degrees immediately on deployment
- Typical payback2–3 months rope-and-pulley; 6–12 months motorized
- OperationMotorized, or rope-and-pulley
- MaterialsPolyester and vinyl-on-polyester; Nano 97, Nano 50–70, Nano 97/99
- Fire ratingNFPA 701 certified
- MaintenanceMild soap and water; mildew and fade resistant
- Warranty3 years on workmanship; 5 years on motors on motorized shades
Sun Shade Questions
How much cooler does a patio actually get?
About ten degrees, immediately, on most patios. The bigger effect is on direct radiant heat — sitting in shade at 95 degrees is a completely different experience from sitting in direct sun at 95 degrees, and that difference is what decides whether guests stay for another round.
Can guests still see out?
Yes. Shade fabric gives one-way daytime visibility: guests see out, people outside cannot see in. That reverses after dark when the patio is lit and the outside is not, which is worth knowing if the shades face a sidewalk.
Will it block the breeze?
Not much, on the standard weaves. Nano 97 and the bug screens still pass air. The exception is the Nano 97/99 combination, which gives maximum sun and insect protection with noticeably lower airflow — we will tell you when that trade is worth making.
Do these keep bugs out too?
The bug screen weaves do. Nano 70 is the one that stops no-see-ums, which is the fabric most coastal and lakeside operators end up needing. Nano 50 through 60 handle ordinary insects with more airflow.
Can we use shades in winter?
They help, but for genuine cold you want clear vinyl. The common setup is both, on back-to-back track: shade fabric through summer, clear vinyl through winter, on the same opening.
What maintenance do they need?
Mild soap and water. The fabric is mildew and fade resistant and is built to spend years outdoors. There is no annual treatment or coating to reapply.
See It Working
Hard Rock Casino — Cincinnati, OH
28 motorized sun shades across three patios in one season, up to 15 feet 6 inches tall, with the casino open the whole time.
Canopy by Hilton — San Antonio, TX
A rooftop hotel patio with no place to mount: four new posts set into the ceiling and two motorized sun shade curtains 15.5 feet tall.
Fairmont Austin — Austin, TX
Eight motorized sun shades 12 feet 6 inches tall on a downtown rooftop pool terrace, hung from twelve new posts in April 2022 and still in service.
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille — 8 Locations, 6 States
Sixty-one tobacco mesh sun shades, one standard since 2020, from Schaumburg to the first Arizona Perry’s in Gilbert, built from shop drawings under a GC.
Zanzibar Rooftop — Austin Marriott Downtown
Seven motorized black mesh sun shades up to 14 feet tall on a seventh-floor deck, four in 2020 on an expedited build and three more in 2024 for White Lodging.
Losing your patio to the afternoon sun?
Tell us which direction it faces and roughly how big it is. We will tell you which fabric solves it and what the payback looks like.