Roll-A-Cover International’s Commercial ROI going through the roof

Bethany CT: Amid a national roll-a-coaster ride in the commercial construction industry, Roll-A-Cover has found an important niche for builders, renovators, and commercial owner-managers everywhere.

Take the hotel/entertainment industries. Roll-A-Cover designs, constructs and installs creative rooftop retractable enclosures for hotels, clubs, bars, and restaurants that utilize wasted space and converts it into a revenue steam for various enterprises.

The open/closed Roll-A-Cover sunroom systems comfortably and easily cover dining and lounge facilities. Impervious to the weather, they provide year-round entertainment space ideal for any facility looking for innovative ways to beef up their bottom lines.

The retractable enclosures are versatile, custom-produced and installed by Roll-A-Cover teams. They’re architecturally perfect in all the design “form and function” demands of the architectural profession.

The founder and design guru of Roll-A-Cover, Michael Morris, President and CEO, feels his products have filled an important role during a lackluster market. “Commercial buildings can turn heads with our retractable systems. Their functions are the same as huge football stadiums with retractable roofs, only our Roll-A-Covers offer beauty, glass transparency, immediate closing and opening, and the openness of the outdoors where people can comfortably enjoy themselves often with a view of scenic beauty.” Many East Coast and Chicago hotels and rooftop restaurant have already installed the systems. John Taft, one of the developers of New York’s Strand Hotel has said: “New York’s rooftop horizon has never looked so good, including the Strand’s magnificent rooftop view of the Empire State Building. The rolling, retractable system is both attractive and functional. It’s a great guest experience. This installation is paying for itself already after less than 4 months of actual use.”

Ross Lombardo, co-owner of New York’s Rare View Restaurant and nightclub group echoes the Strand story. One of his 2 Roll-A-Cover enclosures perched on top of the new Wyndam Hotel on West 26th street in Manhattan, has been called “The “8th wonder of the world” by Lombardo.
He and his family have also installed a courtyard retractable sunroom enclosure in their Manhattan home. The economic benefits of the nightclub’s success has inspired Lombardo
 and his partner Doug to call their newest rooftop project, “Rare View” for the club’s amazing views of the Manhattan skyline. “We have had a tremendous success since our opening of the rooftop lounge last month and we see the growth of excitement building daily. My partner and are thrilled that we made the investment into a truly magnificent enclosure product versus the traditional fixed glass enclosure concept of yester-year.  Many clubs continue to use those
cheaply built vinyl coverings that have tremendous limitations. They are also a poor perceived value to guests asked to purchase a 10-20 cocktail” Lombardo concluded.

Matt Menna, co-owner of several restaurants and clubs in Chicago has recently opened his newest restaurant, “Benchmark”, in Olde Town Chicago. The restaurant/club has a rooftop retractable enclosure that is now the focal point of their restaurant’s motif. “The Roll-A-Cover team was tremendous and their product has been a hit from the day we opened”, Menna said. “We have received nothing but rave reviews by our guests and Chicago as a whole. Our innovative design is obviously a hit, already helping our restaurant to become a more of a destination point; in this economy, being creative in design, and offering an excitingly new, inviting environment for dining was our main design goal. Roll-A-Cover’s team helped us achieve that milestone”

Currently, Roll-A-Cover is adding to their 65,000 square feet of NYC rooftop enclosure portfolio with another innovative project. A massive mall-like outdoor multi-tier retractable enclosure in the center of New York City being installed for Italy’s Eately Group, one of Roll-A-Cover’s largest, most ambitious projects designed for Mario Botali, the world renowned chef. “With huge glass skylights and both fixed rolling ceilings and walls, the system is an architect’s dream, capturing light and air in a kind of sliding prism. Morris said. “Being chosen by one of the largest restaurant group’s in the world, it’s our intention o become part of their present and future project plans in all Eately  projects.”

Morris continued: “We also offer rolling interior and exterior wall systems for commercial office space and banquet facilities, creating instant rolling partitioning, rather than the usual process of anchoring the interior walls or acquiring bi-fold wall systems.”

While Roll-A-Cover’s huge midtown Manhattan project is still in the final phase many other commercial and residential projects are being manufactured and installed throughout all of North America, with Chicago becoming the company’s next Manhattan rooftop “mecca.”

The trackless, retractable concept is so versatile, architects and builders can easily build it into plan specifications utilizing existing drawings engineered from Roll-A-Cover. The firm also offers custom designs and consults with architects from New York to L.A.  Globally, they have projects in Norway, Newfoundland, and throughout Canada.

“Basically, we provide a unique design element for architects and builders that allows them to retain their own vision and integrity for a project with Roll-A-Cover providing possible complements to those plans with a wide variety of enclosure products,“ Morris continued.

Another example: The corporate campus and industrial park: ideal for building-to-building protected walkways, retractable or fixed, for employees’ outdoor attached patios, providing recreation “cluster center” for employee relaxation, fully protected year-round out of the weather.

“And those same concepts extend to a huge proven consumer market place for swimming pools, spas, exercise lap pools, outdoor games room, and residential patios, all of which offers the residential market full year-round use, yet pleasurable  relaxation in glass enclosed “mini-amphitheatres” with skies and vistas open to viewing. We have also developed a tremendous fixed sunroom system whether single pane ¼” tempered glass on the walls or ¾” insulated glass becomes more beneficial so we have our clients covered. The enclosure industry has gone through tremendous transformations throughout my 25 years in the industry. Providing a designer or residential user one stop design/shopping is becoming our focus for many years to come,” Morris said.

“In some sense,” Michael Morris concluded, “Roll-A-Cover represents a kind of design renaissance in add-on features to commercial buildings that prove-out a healthy return-on-investment. And that’s encouraging to a market that’s undergone some devastating years recently. We feel our company has turned that corner and helped others along the way.”

Roll-A-Cover's information and project web site are available at http://www.rollacover.com/ or call for your own project design consultation at 203-393-7292.