Custom Apparel for Restaurants: Uniforms, Merch, and Branded Gear

Custom Apparel for Restaurants: Uniforms, Merch, and Brand Building

Your restaurant's identity extends beyond the menu. The way your staff looks, the merch your customers wear home, and the branded gear at your host stand all contribute to your brand experience. Custom apparel turns your restaurant from a place people eat into a brand people represent.

At French Press Custom in Santa Fe Springs, CA, we work with restaurants, bars, breweries, and food trucks across the LA area and nationwide. Here is how to build a custom apparel program for your restaurant.

Staff Uniforms: First Impressions Matter

Front of House

Your servers, hosts, and bartenders are the face of your restaurant. Their apparel should reflect your brand personality:

Casual Dining:

• Branded t-shirts (Bella+Canvas 3001 or Next Level 3600)
• Screen printed logo, usually left chest + back
• 2-3 color options so staff can rotate
• Aprons with embroidered logo

Upscale Dining:

• Embroidered polos or button-downs (Port Authority, Nike)
• Subtle left-chest logo placement
• Matching aprons with leather or canvas straps
• Consider embroidered baseball caps for outdoor seating staff

Bars and Breweries:

• Graphic tees with bold, fun branding
• Comfort Colors or Bella+Canvas for a cool, casual vibe
• Seasonal designs that keep things fresh
• Branded snapback hats

Food Trucks:

• Eye-catching graphic tees that serve as marketing
• Bold, readable branding (customers see the truck and the shirt)
• Durable blanks that handle sweat and grease

Back of House

Kitchen staff need durable, comfortable apparel:

• Heavyweight cotton tees (Gildan 5000 or Hanes Beefy-T)
• Dark colors hide stains (black, navy, charcoal)
• Simple 1-color logo (keeps cost down for high-turnover positions)
• Consider chef coats with embroidered name and restaurant logo

Aprons

Custom aprons are a restaurant essential:

• Bib aprons — full coverage for FOH and BOH
• Waist aprons — servers and bartenders
• Bistro aprons — mid-length, European style

Decoration options:

• Screen print: bold logo, cost-effective
• Embroidery: premium look, extremely durable
• Leather patches: rustic, artisan aesthetic

Customer Merch: Turning Fans into Brand Ambassadors

The best restaurants sell merch. Think about it — when someone wears your restaurant's shirt, they are advertising your business everywhere they go. It is the most cost-effective marketing a restaurant can do.

What Sells at Restaurants

T-Shirts (The Staple)

• Vintage-style graphic tee with restaurant branding
• Feature your signature dish, mascot, or iconic design element
• Price: $25-30 retail, $8-12 cost = $15-20 profit per shirt

Hats

• Trucker caps and dad hats with embroidered logo
• Low-effort, high-margin item
• Price: $25 retail, $10-12 cost = $13-15 profit

Hoodies and Crewnecks

• Seasonal items — perfect for fall/winter
• Higher price point = higher margin
• Price: $45-55 retail, $20-25 cost = $25-30 profit

Aprons

• Branded aprons for home cooks
• Great gift item
• Price: $30-40 retail, $12-18 cost

Tote Bags

• Branded canvas totes for takeout and groceries
• Low cost, high perceived value
• Price: $15-20 retail, $5-8 cost

Merch Revenue Potential

A restaurant with 200 covers per day that converts just 2% to merch purchases:

• 4 merch sales per day x $28 average purchase = $112/day
• Monthly merch revenue: $3,360
• Monthly merch profit (at 60% margin): $2,016
• Annual merch profit: $24,192

That is $24K in nearly passive revenue from a well-stocked merch display.

Design Tips for Restaurant Apparel

Make It Wearable

The best restaurant merch does not look like a uniform — it looks like something cool you would buy even if you had never eaten there.

• Focus on design quality, not just slapping your logo on everything
• Think about what YOUR customers would wear
• Study successful restaurant merch brands (Franklin BBQ, Waffle House, In-N-Out)

Design Elements That Work

• Vintage/retro typography — hand-lettered style, worn textures
• Mascot or illustration — a character or food illustration, not just text
• Location pride — city name, neighborhood, street address
• Established date — "Est. 2015" adds heritage feel
• Tagline or motto — something clever, not generic

Design Elements to Avoid

• Full menu printed on the shirt (seriously, we see this)
• Phone number, website URL, or QR codes as the primary design
• Low-resolution logo stretched to fit
• Too much text — it is a shirt, not a flyer

Setting Up Your Restaurant Merch Program

Start Simple

• 2 t-shirt designs (1 graphic tee, 1 simple logo tee)
• 1 hat design
• 1 hoodie (seasonal)
• Total investment: $800-1,500 for initial inventory

Where to Display

• Host stand — shirts on hangers, hats on a display
• Behind the bar — stack shirts where customers can see them
• Near the register — impulse buy location
• Glass case or shelving unit — dedicated merch display

Inventory Management

Start with small quantities and reorder what sells:

• T-shirts: 24-36 per design (heavy on M, L, XL)
• Hats: 24 total
• Hoodies: 12-18 (fall/winter)

Track what sells and adjust your order quantities. We can turn around reorders in 7-10 business days.

Uniform Program Management

For Multi-Location Restaurants

If you have 2+ locations, setting up a managed uniform program saves time:

• Centralized ordering — one point of contact for all locations
• Consistent branding — same designs, same quality across locations
• New hire kits — pre-packaged shirt bundles shipped to each location
• Quarterly refreshes — seasonal designs keep the look fresh
• Online company store — managers reorder through a branded portal

Sizing and Ordering

For new hires:

• Keep 2-3 of each size in stock at each location
• Order new hire shirts within 24 hours of their start date
• Standard sizes S-3XL, with extra L and XL in stock

For existing staff:

• Quarterly uniform refresh (new design or replacement for worn items)
• Budget $50-75 per employee per quarter for uniform allowance

Getting Started with French Press Custom

We work with restaurants at every stage:

• New restaurants: Full branding package (logo placement, uniform design, initial merch run)
• Established restaurants: Merch program setup, uniform refresh, online store
• Multi-location: Centralized uniform management, consistent branding

Our Santa Fe Springs location is in the heart of the LA restaurant scene. We understand food service apparel needs — durability, comfort, frequent washing, and looking good on camera (because everything ends up on Instagram).

Call (562) 758-5110 or submit a quote request for your restaurant apparel program.