Christmas Lights for Restaurants: Patios, Entries and Rooflines

By Chance Sixma, Owner·9 min read·September 23, 2026

What does Christmas lighting for a restaurant actually cover?

For most restaurants it is four zones, and you can take them one at a time. The roofline reads from the road. The entry is what guests walk through. The patio is where they sit. The walkway ties it together.

The zones we light

• Roofline and ridgelines: C9 LED bulbs along gutter and fascia, plus roof peaks if you want the height.
• Entry trees and palms: trunks and canopies wrapped in LED mini lights.
• Patio and dining areas: wrapped trunks, columns and landscaping around the seating.
• Walkways and drive edges: stake lights, roughly one stake per foot.

Pre-lit 9 foot commercial garland and 24-inch wreaths are available on request for doors and host stands. One thing we do not do on rooflines is icicle lights. Nobody makes a commercial-grade icicle light that lasts, so rooflines and ridges get classic C9 bulbs only. If you want the icicle look, we hang drop lights from tree branches instead. There is more on how the zones compare in our guide to roofline, ridgeline and tree wrapping.

How do you light a patio without it looking like a backyard?

A lit dining area lives or dies on the anchor points. We wrap what is already there: trunks, palms, columns and the landscaping around the seating, so the light comes from the structure instead of floating overhead in a tangle.

What wrapping takes

We use 70-light LED mini strands with 4-inch spacing. A small palm trunk takes about 2 strands, a large palm 4 to 5, and an oak wrapped to about 20 feet takes 7 to 8. That is how we size a patio quickly from photos.

Warm white is our default and the most popular color. It sits well with most patio furniture without fighting your existing fixtures. C9 bulbs come in any color or pattern, so cool white, multicolor or something like alternating red and warm white on the roofline are all on the table.

Will the install interrupt lunch or dinner service?

It should not. Working hours that avoid customer traffic are written into the commercial proposal before anyone shows up, so you know the windows in advance.

We schedule around your service hours. For a lot of restaurants that means mornings before open, or a slow weekday block you pick. Ladder work near the entry gets done when the entry is quiet.

What we need from you

Working outlets near the lit areas, GFCI outlets recommended, and a heads-up on any delivery windows or trash pickup that would put a truck where our ladders are.

• Your preferred install window by day and hour
• Outlet locations near patio, entry and roofline
• Any delivery or vendor times to work around
• Who on staff we contact if something needs a decision
• A photo set or an address so we can measure from satellite and Street View
• Your removal preference, January or earlier

How does a commercial proposal come together?

Commercial properties are measured and quoted individually, so the residential ranges on our pricing page do not apply here. Every restaurant is a different footprint.

The proposal spells out scope by element with a marked-up photo, install timing, working hours that avoid customer traffic, the removal window, free outage response with a contact number, payment terms, and a certificate of insurance. A 50% deposit locks the install date and the balance is charged the day of install, so nothing is due at takedown. If you want the full walkthrough of how we build a number, our guide on getting a quote covers it.

1. 1
   Send photos or an address

   A few clear photos of the front, patio and entry trees work fine. We also measure from satellite and Street View.

2. 2
   Tell us a rough budget

   Not to haggle. It sizes the design before we draw anything.

3. 3
   We draw the mockup

   Scope and color get marked on a photo of your property so you approve the look first.

4. 4
   Proposal and COI

   Scope by element, timing, removal window, outage contact and a certificate of insurance on request.

5. 5
   Date locked, install scheduled

   Install goes on the calendar in your chosen hours, and an insured crew handles the whole property.

Should a restaurant buy lights or rent the display?

We only work one way: full-service seasonal rental. You never buy or own the lights. We own them, install them, maintain them, take them down and store them.

That matters more for a restaurant than a house, because nobody on your staff has time to climb a ladder in December. A dead section over the entry is our problem, not your closing manager's. The lights are cut to fit the property, tagged with color-coded tags and stored in labeled bins, so the same display goes back up next season.

What happens when a section goes out mid-season?

You report it and we fix it free, usually within 72 hours once we hear from you. The proposal includes a contact number for exactly this.

What we see in a Florida season

• GFCI outlets tripping after heavy rain
• Wet outlets that will not reset
• Landscapers cutting or snagging wire
• Squirrels chewing through strands

A quick text with which zone is dark saves us a lap around the building. Timers are set so the lights run themselves, and it is best to leave them as we programmed them. If anything looks off, a call or text to us is all it takes. It also helps to keep your own decorations on a separate outlet from ours.

When should a restaurant book, and when do lights come down?

September or early October is the window to ask for a proposal, before the residential calendar tightens in November. Returning customers book first, and by mid-November we are usually booked into mid-December.

We are based in Volusia County, so Sanford, Winter Park and Orlando-area installs get grouped into route days. Early booking matters more there. In Daytona Beach we are close to home base.

Removal

Takedown runs January 1 to January 31, and removal timing is arranged with the property. If your slow week is the first week of January, we work to that. More on timing in our booking guide.

What about insurance, signage and multi-location groups?

We carry a $2 million commercial and residential liability policy plus workers' compensation on every employee, and a certificate of insurance is provided on request. Property managers usually want it before the crew arrives, so it is easier to request it with the proposal.

Around signage

We light the building features near your signage, rooflines, gables, entry trees and columns, rather than the sign itself. Lights attach with clips that slide under or clamp to shingles, clip onto gutters, or connect to metal flashing. On tile, clips slide up under the tile where they fit, and tile ridgelines are often held with a removable adhesive that comes off at takedown. No screws, no staples, no drilling.

Running more than one location? A multi-year agreement keeps the same scope in place year to year.

How do we get started?

Send us photos or your address and we will measure and draw a mockup. The form at /get-quote takes about 60 seconds and we reply with a same-day quote by text. You can also call or text 386-215-5461.

Castle serves homes from Daytona Beach to Winter Park, and we light businesses across Volusia, Seminole and Orange County too. For plazas and storefronts, our guide to commercial displays and HOA entrances covers the rest.

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