Bistro Napkin Boom Analyzed
A Washington, DC-based magazine recently examined the food & beverage trend of Signature® Stripe, or large bistro-style napkins, in DC restaurants. This light-hearted, but informative article notes that the napkins have proven to be a popular alternative to traditional, white fine-dining napery. The prime market is restaurants that want to project an image that consciously seeks to blur the lines between fancy and casual.
Todd Kliman’s “Otherwise” column in Washingtonian magazine describes this trend with a sense of surprise that a napkin could generate such a buzz among managers of DC’s tony, but not stuffy restaurants, including Ambar, The Partisan, Café Berlin, Beuchert’s Saloon and others. “You would hardly guess that since its introduction into the market two years ago, it has become as trendily ubiquitous as ramen,” Kliman said of the bistro napkin in his online article posted in mid-October.
The article adds that restaurant general managers wanted something that made their eateries stand out from the fine-dining crowd. The irony is that so many of them now have adopted these Signature Stripe napkins that resemble a tea towel, but have greater “heft” than traditional napery.
Brenda Burris-Drake of Milliken & Co., tells readers that her company introduced its version of the napkin in 2013. The goal was to take advantage of a “paradigm shift” taking place in restaurants by providing a product that would “win over the dining mainstream by blending high and low into one cloth.” Demand for the napkins is booming, she added, noting that sales are up 64% in the past year. Moreover, interest in the bistro napkins is spreading to the center of the United States from the East and West coasts.
Kristin Dempsey, vice president of Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply, Jessup, PA; also is quoted in Kliman’s article. She attributes the Signature Stripe’s weight and “hand” to the use of spun polyester. This technique is comparable to cotton spinning and it gives the napkins a rich, dense weave. Dempsey conceded that she was surprised at how the bistro napkin has taken off. For details, click here.