Specialty Fabrics Review January 2020 - 28

Midtown Awning was asked to replace
the zipper screens originally installed
at the Ocean Prime restaurant in
Indianapolis, Ind., with keder screens
from Fenetex. The photo shows the
project in process; the screens on the
double windows are the old ones, those
in the single windows are the new
ones. Photo: Midtown Awning Works.

Michael Palmer, owner of Midtown
Awning Works, says that while most of
his company's residential customers are
using screens to block sun and avoid the
associated heat gain, commercial clients
like restaurants are more interested in
expanding the amount of time their
outdoor spaces can be used, with screens
that keep out the cold, rain and snow.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.,
Midtown is a sales, design and installation
company for all types of stationary and
retractable awnings and shades, as well
as vestibule and privacy panels and
other items. It purchases ready-to-install
screens, using products from Fenetex®
and Sunair, and recently signed up to sell
Futureguard® products.
For its commercial screens, a vinyl like
Ferrari 502 typically comprises the border
with a clear vinyl used in the center serving
as a window. The screens can be rolled up
in agreeable weather, creating an openspace patio.

Because the sun made the restaurant's outdoor patio unusable from the afternoon until sunset,
Midtown Awning was tasked with devising a structure that would provide shade without blocking
the view. The product installed by the company, shown here, is a Sunair SC4000 with cable guides.
The fabric is Ferrari Soltis 92. Photo: Midtown Awning Works.

28 REVIEW JANUARY 2020

Palmer says Midtown is using Fenetex
retractable screens with Somfy® motors
and controls, preferring the keder-like
side-retention system of these screens
over some of the zipper systems available,
particularly for restaurants situated in very
windy areas, where zipper screens have
blown out of the zippers. He describes the
commercial market as growing.
"Restaurants are realizing they can add
these types of screens to an outdoor space
to make it available for seating all year,"
Palmer says. "This adds a lot of revenue
space that went unused in the winter
months. And blocking the sun with screens
makes the space more comfortable during
the summer."
Restaurants have also become excited
about pergolas, eschewing standard lateral
arm awnings and instead embracing a
fabric structure that can be used in the
rain and sun and outfitted with LED
lights and heaters, says Martensson. The
architecturally pleasing pergolas can be
fitted with roll-down, motorized screens
for year-round use. Some also offer a
retractable fabric roof, while others have
metal louvers that can adjust with the push
of a button.
"Restaurants are looking for an alfresco
dining experience for their patrons, being
able to serve on beautiful afternoons and
evenings, and to also be able to protect
patrons on rainy and cool days," he says.
"These products increase the restaurant's
margins and use of the outdoor space."
There's also strong commercial demand
for interior screens, Martensson continues,
describing this market as much larger in
the U.S. than that of exterior screens (think
office high rises, which could easily have
1,000 or more interior shades, he says).
"This is sort of the opposite situation
to Europe, where the commercial
exterior screen market is much bigger,"
Martensson says. "Although for sure, in
the U.S., the exterior screen market is
growing faster right now-as you know,

Specialty Fabrics Review January 2020

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