So I'm a general manager, not owner, but I'm in charge of getting us new umbrella stands for our sidewalk cafe/outdoor seating. Our outside table setup has been a sore point for a while. We stack everything up at the end of the day and set it up in the morning. We've tried metal bases with wheels as well as concrete bases, both of which are super heavy for servers to carry down the sidewalk, and both of which have failed once or twice (whole table blew over from the wind while attached to the base). This is on a city block, so there are cars parked next to the sidewalk and it is a liability for us to have umbrellas falling over and potentially hitting someone's car (or God forbid, an actual person).

Does anyone know what the most effective/heaviest umbrella stand is? And, does anyone have a suggestion for a system that allows servers to not break their backs carrying these things around? People who own restaurants with a similar situation (city block sidewalk cafe), what is your setup like?

I greatly appreciate any ideas or insight about this, thanks in advance!