I really empathize with you on this, being about 400 lbs. myself. I've been through this process several times: my desk chair, our dining room chairs, patio furniture, casual chairs for our den, etc. I also deal with it constantly in restaurants and other public places -- what's comfortable, what feels sturdy, and what feels like I'm going to break it if I'm not extremely careful.Here are a few key things you should look for:1. The back should be fairly straight. While we big guys love to lean back, any more than a very tiny lean in the back forces us into a slouch position, which is not what you want in a group setting.2. The chair MUST have cross-braces between the legs. Period. If you want it to hold up to that kind of stress on a daily basis, there needs to be bracing against the
shear stress that happen as a heavy person shifts their weight around.3. Ideally, the legs should be completely vertical (at least the front ones), not coming out of the chair bottom at angles. This transfers the stress completely down the length of the leg, Otherwise you get a shear stress at the junction between the leg and the seat. They should also be straight and fairly thick, for obvious reasons.4. No arms. This should be obvious, but some people just won't fit in chairs with arms.I don't have a specific chair or vendor to recommend, but check Business.com's directories for
Restaurant Chairs,
Home Furniture,
Home Chairs, and
Hospitality Furnishings. Based upon a quick look, it seems that the kind of chairs you're looking for (and I'm talking about) aren't going to be sold as office furniture, but either as dining chairs or hotel furnishings, so I'd try those categories first.Good luck with it. I'd love to hear back on what you find.