Choosing the Best Bar Equipment for Your Commercial Business
Back bar areas are notoriously limited in space, so every square inch counts and bar operators must get creative when organizing their available room. Bar refrigeration is the most important equipment behind the bar because it keeps drinks cold and equips bartenders to offer quick, satisfying service. Finding the best bar equipment for your foodservice operation will ensure you maximize your space fittingly and efficiently.
Before deciding on a new piece of commercial bar equipment, measure the installation space to make sure it can accommodate the piece. Account for any equipment clearance requirements while measuring. Most back bar equipment is front breathing, so it can be installed directly against neighboring equipment. However, you may encounter coolers that must be installed with certain amounts of space between them and adjacent walls and equipment so the refrigeration system will have ventilation room.
Back Bar Coolers
A back bar cooler keeps bottled and canned beverages cool, giving bartenders convenient access to an array of drinks. Operators can choose from various configurations to ensure they get the piece that best suits their needs.
The doors are either solid – which provides better insulation and energy efficiency – or glass, which can merchandise products. Glass door models also offer a choice between swinging or sliding doors. Swinging doors are mounted on hinges and usually close on their own if left open, but they often occupy more room when opened, which can block the flow of traffic. Sliding doors slide along a track, so they are ideal for areas where aisle space is limited, but they may not close on their own and are only available on units with two or more sections.
You also must consider where your back bar cooler's compressor is located and account for any additional clearance it may require on that side. Bottom-mounted compressors need less clearance, but often entail more maintenance, as they may draw in dust and debris that settles on the floor. Remote compressors – located outside the building – solve these problems but are costlier to purchase and install.
The exterior finish of the cooler will affect its appearance, but also its durability. A stainless steel exterior is durable and easy to clean but is costlier initially and must be cleaned more often. The other option is black laminate, which looks more modern and is usually cheaper. However, the laminate can be scratched or chipped, which can cause the metal underneath to rust.
A glass-door bar cooler can double as a merchandiser if you put it somewhere your customers can see it. If the unit has LED lights inside, this flattering lighting will work especially well for merchandising products by drawing eyes and driving sales.
Bottle Coolers
Bottle coolers keep bottles and cans chilled until the bartender is ready to serve them. These units are similar to back bar coolers but are generally designed to maximize storage space instead of merchandising product. Bottle coolers keep bottles cold either with a refrigeration system or with bulk ice. Models with refrigeration systems are most often used in restaurants and bars, where electricity is readily available. Ice-cooled models are convenient for outdoor use, such as at poolside bars, and are often seen in convenience stores.
If you're looking for a bottle-chilling solution for an event or for a retail setting, consider an ice-cooled bottle cooler. Ice-cooled bins can enable guests to grab their own drinks and they're the best option when equipment will only be needed occasionally or for a few hours a day. Consider installing one on an outdoor patio at your bar or resort. They are good solutions for event centers, too. Ice-cooled units must be filled with ice and connected to a drain to collect melted water, but if used only infrequently, ice-cooled bottle coolers may be the best bar equipment for your needs.
Capacity is a major concern when purchasing a bottle cooler. The smallest sizes hold four-and-a-half bottle cases or six can cases, while the largest can hold 40 bottle cases or 55 can cases. These coolers are meant to house your bulk sellers, making them accessible and limiting your required restocking.
Draft Beer Systems
Draft beer systems can be necessary pieces of commercial bar equipment for restaurants and sports bars that advertise their beer selection. As the craft beer industry has surged, customers want authentic beer experiences, which often come from a tap. Draft beer systems enable you to serve draft beer without investing in expensive, extensive bar refrigeration equipment.
To keep surfaces clean and tidy, draft beer systems are built with drip trays underneath their taps to capture excess beer foam. In the case of stationary equipment, that drip tray will connect to a floor drain. Mobile equipment mounted to casters is often engineered with a system that collects this runoff and holds it until it can be emptied manually.
Beer dispensers have between one and four taps, enabling you to offer up to four different types of beer on draft at one time. Each of a cooler's dispensing columns can be fitted with one or two taps, so one column can dispense beer from two kegs through two separate taps. Many systems can hold an extra keg, so you can keep an additional supply of your customers' favorite brew chilled and ready to serve. This feature saves space in cramped bar layouts.
Glass Chillers
Glass chillers are great for bars that want to serve beer in chilled glasses – a luxury that customers might appreciate, especially when they're ordering craft beer. These pieces can be sized to hold a few dozen glasses, or as many as 286 glasses. A glass chiller keeps every glass frosted so beverages served in them stay cold for longer (because who wants a warm beer?). Machine capacity goes hand in hand with its size, so you should consider the total footprint of the glass chiller before purchasing.
Most chillers have sliding lids that grant swift access to the cold glasses, meaning there won't be a door swinging open into the walkways behind the bar. There are also countertop options that can blast CO2 onto glasses to chill them quickly, but typically this unit can only frost one glass at a time, which might be insufficient for high-volume operations.
Commercial Wine Coolers
Common wisdom regarding wine is that white wines should be chilled and red wines should be served at room temperature – this isn’t a bad rule of thumb, but it’s not the best possible way to serve your wines. If you take pride in providing quality wine-drinking experiences, a commercial wine cooler can keep your wines at the perfect temperature. Wine coolers can have one, two, or three compartments, each of which can be set to and kept at a temperature specific to the wine variety. Our recommendations for temperature are listed below, but you can experiment to discover your own preferences.
- White wines should be kept between 44 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit, with lighter options kept at cooler temperatures (above freezing).
- Sparkling wines, such as Champagne, are best kept between 38 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Light red wines, such as a pinot noir, should be kept between 53 and 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rich red wines, such as merlots and cabernets, should be kept between 63 and 69 degrees.
Like most other bar refrigeration equipment, you can choose between solid and glass doors, and specify a capacity. Glass doors are best if the cooler will be somewhere customers can see it, while solid doors can be used in back-of-house areas where merchandising options to customers isn't a factor. Capacity comes down to how many bottles you need to store and how much floor or countertop space you can spare for a wine cooler. Undercounter models – great for back bar use – are also available.
