Restaurants, retail and dealerships

Holiday lighting and decor for restaurants, retail and dealerships

Commercial Christmas light installation for a restaurant, store or dealership has a deadline the landlord's program does not: your busiest weeks start the day after Black Friday, and the storefront has to be lit before then. We light storefronts, patios, entrances and lots across Southwestern Ontario, the GTA and Hamilton-Niagara, installed overnight so you never close a door or lose a parking space.

Free site visit & quote

Get a fixed seasonal price

A site visit, a design and a fixed seasonal price. No obligation.

What you’re dealing with

The problems a holiday program has to solve

The usual program is the roofline or gable outlined in warm-white C9 or mini LED, columns wrapped in lit garland, a wreath over the door and bistro string lights across the patio. Interior trees and window moments bring the look inside for diners and shoppers. Dealerships add lot lighting so the showroom and the front row of vehicles read from the road after dark.

Everything is our own commercial-grade inventory, so maintenance is included at no charge; a dark section on opening week is fixed the same day. Takedown runs in the first three weeks of January, the decor is stored in our warehouse and returning businesses get their install slot held before Black Friday. Landlord approvals and certificates of insurance are handled by us, not by your manager, so the only thing you do is pick a date.

Request a Quote

The opening-week deadline

Seasonal revenue starts in late November and a storefront that is lit in mid-December has missed half of it. We schedule restaurant, retail and dealership installs from October onward and hold your slot once you book. Returning businesses are scheduled first, which is why early confirmation matters.

Installing without closing

A lift in front of the door at lunch costs you customers. We install after close or before open, work from the lot or the sidewalk with cones and a spotter, keep the entrance, drive-through and patio open and are gone before the first customer arrives. Interior trees go up after close in one visit.

Landlord and plaza rules

Tenants in a plaza often need landlord approval for anything attached to the building. We use clips and mounts that leave no marks, provide a certificate of insurance to the landlord on request and can coordinate with the plaza's own lighting program so your storefront fits the centre rather than fighting it.

Power on a small site

A storefront may have one exterior outlet, and a patio may have none. We survey what exists, run weatherproof feeds from the nearest protected circuit, put everything on a photocell or timer and tell you in the quote if your electrician should add a receptacle before install.

Spaces we decorate

Where the decor goes in restaurants & retail

Commercial storefront entrance with columns wrapped in warm white Christmas lights and illuminated wreaths at night

Storefront roofline and gable

C9 or mini LED along the roofline, gable or parapet, wreaths on the gable or over the door and columns wrapped in lit garland. We measure the footage, pick the clip for your fascia and run the feed to a protected outlet on a photocell so the storefront is lit from dusk every day.

Modern commercial building with patio bistro string lights beside lit cone trees and a tall evergreen

Patio and terrace

Bistro string lights across the patio, lit cone trees at the corners, garland on railings and planters dressed for winter, so the terrace is lit through the season. Lighting is on the same timer as the storefront and rated for outdoor use through ice and snow.

Commercial storefront entrance decorated with lit Christmas wreaths and warm white string lights at night.

Entrance and windows

A lit wreath and garland framing the door, wreaths in the windows and a window moment such as a small decorated tree or lit planter that reads from the sidewalk and in the photos customers take. Attachments suit glass, metal and timber without marks.

Decorated Christmas tree with warm-white lights and sheer ribbon garland in a bright corner

Dining room and sales floor

A decorated pre-lit tree at the host stand or in the showroom, garland on railings and counters and ornaments in your brand colours, placed clear of service paths, heat sources and the sales floor traffic. Installed after close and serviced all season.

Large illuminated evergreen and lit cone trees along a commercial frontage in the evening

Dealership lot and signage

Lot trees and the frontage evergreens wrapped, cone trees along the entrance, the showroom roofline outlined and lighting at the pylon sign so the dealership reads from the road after dark. Installed from a bucket truck at night with the lot kept open and vehicles untouched.

Programs

Three ways to scope it

Every program is custom quoted. These are the shapes most properties land on.

Essentials

A lit storefront for a single location: the roofline or gable outlined, a wreath over the door and the columns or posts wrapped, installed before Black Friday in one after-hours visit and stored in January.

Roofline or gable outline
Entrance wreath
Column or post wraps
Photocell or timer on every circuit
Season maintenance, takedown and storage

Quote this program

Signature

Storefront plus patio and interior: the roofline outlined, bistro lights across the patio, cone trees at the entrance, wreaths in the windows and a decorated tree at the host stand or on the sales floor.

Roofline outline and column garland
Patio bistro lights and cone trees
Window wreaths and entrance garland
Interior decorated tree
Season maintenance, takedown and storage

Quote this program

Landmark

For flagship restaurants, breweries, multi-location retailers and dealerships: full exterior and interior program, lot and frontage tree wrapping, signage lighting, brand colour scheme and a multi-location schedule with one invoice.

Full exterior and interior program
Lot and frontage tree wrapping
Pylon sign and showroom lighting
Brand colour scheme across locations
Multi-location schedule, one invoice
Multi-year pricing with reserved dates

Quote this program

Timeline

Your season, step by step

July to September
A site visit or storefront photos, footage and power survey, landlord requirements noted and a written design with reference photos.
September to October
Scope approved, install slot reserved ahead of Black Friday and a certificate of insurance sent to the landlord if the lease requires one.
October to mid-November
Overnight or early-morning install with the entrance, drive-through and patio kept open, lit and on a photocell before you open.
Late November to December
Storefront runs on timers through the busiest weeks. Any fault fixed at no charge, same day where possible, with storm checks on exposed rooflines.
January
Takedown in the first three weeks after close, decor labelled and stored in our warehouse, and your slot held for next season.

Our work

Restaurants & Retail projects from our gallery

Real installs by our crews. Browse the full gallery for more.

Illuminated wrapped trees and building lights at a commercial restaurant on a rainy winter night

Warm-white wrapped trees lighting the entrance of a commercial brewery building at night

Commercial storefront timber facade wrapped in warm-white Christmas string lights at night

Business exterior with overhead bistro string lights and lit evergreens at blue hour

Full gallery

FAQ

Restaurants & Retail questions, answered

Still unsure? Read all 40 FAQs or send the form.

Related services

Can you light our storefront before Black Friday?

Yes, if you book early. Installs run from October and restaurant, retail and dealership slots are scheduled ahead of Black Friday as a matter of course. Returning businesses have their dates held first, so the earlier a new location confirms, the better its slot. If you call in mid-November we will tell you honestly what is still possible rather than promising a date we cannot keep.

What does commercial Christmas light installation for a storefront typically cost?

Programs are quoted from a site visit or storefront photos. As a typical range, exterior programs start from a few thousand dollars for a storefront roofline, entrance wreath and column wraps, and rise with patio lighting, interior trees, lot tree wrapping and signage. Multi-location retailers and dealerships are priced per site on one agreement. Footage, tree count and lift work are the drivers. These are typical ranges, not quotes.

Do you install while we are open?

No. We install after close or before open so the entrance, drive-through, patio and parking stay available to customers. Exterior work runs from the lot or sidewalk with cones and a spotter, and interior trees go up after close in a single visit. On a dealership lot we work at night with vehicles untouched and the showroom roofline done from a bucket truck.

Will the lights damage our fascia, patio or windows?

No. We use purpose-made clips for shingle, metal fascia, stone and timber, wrapped ties for columns and posts, and suction or edge mounts for glass. We do not drill into finishes without written approval, and everything comes down with the decor in January. For tenants, that also keeps the landlord happy. Patio bistro lights are hung on tensioned cable rated for ice and wind rather than stapled to the structure.

What happens if a section goes dark on a Friday night in December?

Call or text us and we come out, usually the same day in December, trace the fault to the failed string, plug or fuse and replace it from stock. There is no charge; maintenance is part of every program. Photocells and timers are reset if a power blip knocked them out. After major wind or ice we check exposed rooflines without a call, because an unlit storefront in the busiest week is the last thing you need.

Do you light dealership lots?

Yes. Dealership programs usually wrap the frontage evergreens and lot trees, line the entrance with cone trees, outline the showroom roofline and light the pylon sign so the front row of vehicles and the showroom read from the road after dark. Work runs at night from a bucket truck with the lot open and vehicles untouched. Brand colours are matched on samples, and multi-store groups are scheduled on one agreement.

Where we work

Restaurants & Retail across Ontario

Toronto Mississauga Brampton Vaughan Markham Oakville Burlington Hamilton Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge Guelph London Woodstock Brantford St. Catharines & Niagara Windsor Barrie

Other sectors

Also decorating

Hotels & Hospitality Condo & Apartment Lobbies Plazas & Shopping Centres Office Buildings & Corporate Campuses Property Managers & REITs Municipalities & BIAs

Restaurants, retail and dealerships

Be lit before your busiest week

Send a photo of the storefront, patio or lot and we will reply within one business day with footage, a design and a per-season price. Call 519-266-6796 to hold an install date ahead of Black Friday.

519-266-6796 See our work

Request a commercial quote

We reply within one business day and book a site visit at your convenience.