Choose the Right Floor for Restaurant Kitchens
Metropolitan Ceramics unglazed quarry tile is specifically designed to take the punishment of demanding areas like restaurant kitchen floors. Here are six reasons Metropolitan quarry tile outworks and outlasts the competition.

Product Features are Important, but the Benefit to the Customer is Really What Matters.
For slip resistance and durability, the quality of Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile is unmatched. There isn’t a better product to use in high traffic areas subject to spills and moisture, which is why there have been millions of square feet of Metropolitan Tile installed over the years.
Here are ten great features (and especially benefits) of Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile.

It’s Time for Outdoor Projects
It’s time to go outdoors and look at ways to add to the beauty of a home with updates to the outdoor living space. Metropolitan Ceramics offers a broad range of tile and thin brick products that will help take these areas from bland to grand. Whether updating a patio, walkway, pool surround, or accent wall, Metropolitan Ceramics has just the right product to fit the design. All Metropolitan Ceramics products are low absorption and slip resisting – ready for the toughest climates. And they all install using tile set methods and material. To follow are some images for inspiration. Products shown are Metropolitan Ceramics® quarry tile, Down to Earth® textured paving tiles, and Royal Thin Brick®.

Choosing the Right Tile for Open Concept Kitchens

There are more design options than you realize with commercial kitchen quarry tile. Above are three very different examples that all meet the requirements of the commercial kitchen environment.
The latest trend in restaurant design from high-end bistros to casual dining is the open concept kitchen. In open concept kitchens, not only is the staff working feverishly in a confined space to create great food, they are now doing so with an audience.
Let’s look at this idea from the viewpoint of what’s underfoot – namely the floor. With open concept kitchens, the floor-covering must perform above and beyond when considering the critical issues of slip falls, durability, and sanitary standards all while enhancing the kitchens aesthetic.
Meeting design and performance requirements is by no means an easy task when you consider what happens in a commercial kitchen. Foodstuffs fall to the lowest point in the room and kitchen and restaurant staff grind everything into the floor.
Finding a floor-covering that can stand up to the daily routine of commercial kitchen life while looking good is no small feat. Choosing the right flooring is vital and once installed even the most appropriate floor needs regular attention when all eyes are watching.
Fortunately, there is one product that can meet all of the requirements of an open concept commercial kitchen. That product is none other than – ceramic quarry tile.
Now you may think of quarry tile as a simple little 6″ x 6′ tile that gets high marks for performance but comes up short on the aesthetics side. And while this may have been true at one time, one manufacturer has worked diligently to create options in unglazed quarry tile that both provide the designer with the rugged dependability she demands and a naturally appealing floor.
Metropolitan Ceramics offers more options in extruded quarry products than any other manufacturer in the United States. Looking through the product options page on the Metropolitan Ceramics website a designer can choose from an array of natural earth tone color choices – from basic single tone quarry tile (aptly named Quarrybasics®) to quarry tile with texture and shade variation (Down to Earth®). There is even a thin paving brick option available – Royal Thin Brick®. A variety of tile sizes are also available in each product line.
The image below is a perfect example of the need for floor covering to perform well and look great. The Kitchen Table at The Modern presents diners with the opportunity to experience the full effect of their fantastic kitchen with seating front and center to all of the action. They chose classic and subdued Raven 6″ x 6″ quarry tile to use throughout this space.

This image from Table Six shows the kitchen and bar area featured as part of the restaurant experience. This time Metro Tread® in a neutral tan color was used to fit both the design needs of an open concept and the added slip resistance required in an area subject to spills and moisture.

From fast casual to fine dining more and more kitchens and prep areas are now in open view of the clientele, creating an excellent opportunity to have an atmosphere of inclusion and participation.
A “nothing to hide” approach is a great way to build customer loyalty and trust, but it does mean that care needs to be taken to keep everything looking and running great. Fortunately, by selecting one of the many floor-covering options available from Metropolitan Ceramics, designers and owners know they have everything covered for years to come for one of the essential parts of every kitchen – the floor.
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Slip Resisting Tile from Metropolitan Ceramics

Because they are so smooth, some glazed and porcelain tiles are just not suitable for wet and oily applications. Liquid can get trapped between the foot and the tile which in turn can lead to hydroplaning, slips, and falls.
IT’S NO ACCIDENT
Metropolitan Ceramics has the right tile for floor installations that demand slip resistance. Choose from one of these fine Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile products and tame the toughest jobs indoors and out.

Now Available, a One-of-a-Kind Slip Resisting Ceramic Tile

Metropolitan Ceramics® introduces a new slip resisting tile, XA Abrasive. XA Abrasive combines two slip resisting additives to create a one-of-a-kind slip resisting tile with a Dynamic Coefficient of Friction ≥ .70. The silicon carbide embedded surface, combined with the metallic additive through the body of the tile, work together to combat the effects of spills, moisture, extreme temperatures, and heavy traffic. Use Quarry Basics® XA Abrasive in the most demanding environments and anywhere durability and slip resistance are important.


An Important Part of Every Tile Installation

Properly managing movement and expansion joints is an important part of every tile installation. Knowing how and where to include expansion joints can be one key to the success of the overall tile work.
The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) includes an entire section (EJ171) of their handbook covering movement and expansion joints. The section includes information on location and frequency, width, materials, and installation. The section also includes details on various types of joints relating to both construction and tile installation.
The TCNA has a F.A.Q. section about movement and expansion joints on their website @ http://www.tcnatile.com/faqs/53-expansion-joints.html
Don’t under estimate the importance of adding the correct expansion joints to your tile work. This important step will help ensure a sound tile installation.
If you have questions about movement and expansion joints in tile work or would like a copy of the TCNA Handbook, visit the TCNA website @ tcnatile.com or call them @ 864-646-2821.
Quarry Tile vs. Other Floor Finishes
We all know Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile is durable and long lasting, but did you know that Metropolitan Ceramics has the most favorable life cycle cost? The infographic shown below illustrates how quarry tile stacks up when compared to other flooring products. http://metroceramics.com/environment-advantages/life-cycle/

Metropolitan Ceramics® Meets the Needs of These Demanding Applications
Industrial applications need an extremely durable floor product. These floors need to handle spills of all sorts- including chemicals. They need to perform in extreme temperatures with heavy industrial equipment and foot traffic moving over them. And through all of this they have to remain maintenance friendly and last for decades. Only one flooring product will meet all these demands at an economical price-point. Metropolitan Ceramics®, with its extruded and hard fired body is the right choice for industrial applications. And Metropolitan offers a 6” x 9” x 3/4” paver product – METRO®PAVERS for the most demanding areas. To follow are two examples of Metropolitan Ceramics products in use in industrial applications.

The Founder’s Brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan installed Metropolitan Ceramics #310 Mayflower Red 6×6 throughout their brewery’s production area. This quarry tile will stand up to the harsh conditions and provide a maintenance friendly, slip resisting floor for decades of service.

Mission Foods® is the largest tortilla manufacturer in the United States, providing tortilla products for supermarkets and restaurants throughout the country. In their plant in Pendergrass, Georgia, Mission Foods installed 6″ x 9″ x 3/4″ METROPAVERS in their production facility. According to the plant manager, the pavers provide employees with an improved working area when compared with the existing concrete slab. Happy with the results, Mission Foods is now using METROPAVERS in other facilities throughout the country.
METRO® Pavers – The Most Durable Paver Tiles for the Most Demanding Jobs
Metropolitan Ceramics’ METROPAVERS are designed for heavy duty industrial and commercial applications. They will stand up to heavy abuse and give decades of service. METROPAVERS will resist impact and abrasion, chemical spills, thermal shock, cracking, spalling, and erosion. And METROPAVERS will remain slip resisting for decades of uncompromising service. METROPAVERS are perfect for any area with constant foot traffic, spills and moisture, and heavy industrial traffic. Think of METROPAVERS for your next demanding commercial application.
