How To: Cool Down with Ice and Equipment
Whether for a new build, renovation, or replacement situation, when it comes time to invest in and install refrigeration and ice-making equipment in your bar, there are a handful of things owners and operators should keep in mind.
First and foremost, know what kind of bar you are and they type of customer you are serving. Ken Krol, owner of Polaris Food Service Equipment, Inc., New York, N.Y., explains that refrigeration and ice equipment can be installed in one of two ways: remotely or self-contained, both of which have their pros and cons.
“A typical two- or three-door back bar cooler can be self-contained where the compressor or condensing unit is actually built in,” says Krol. “You just plug it in and you’re done; you don’t need to run any refrigeration lines.
“On a remote unit, the condensing unit is in a remote location,” he continues. “Typically it’s installed in a room away from the bar or kitchen in a thermostatically-controlled environment that doesn’t reach high temperatures.”
Self-contained units offer a bar owner the do-it-yourself installation option. However, like small window air conditioning units, self-contained refrigeration units produce a lot of heat while keeping everything inside nice and cool.
“If you have a bar cooler in the back, some bottle coolers in the front and a small ice machine, all self-contained, you will definitely feel the heat in that bar and so will your customers,” warns Krol. “A lot of places have enough room for the heat to dissipate, but if you can go remote, it’s a better alternative.”
Remote units will be more expensive to install, as they require a licensed professional to run lines away from the unit to the other room. But in the long run, it will probably be worth the initial costs. “The downfall with remote is that the upfront costs are higher,” he continues. “You have to set the unit in place and have a licensed refrigeration guy run copper tubes from each unit 20 to 60 feet away to the ‘mechanical’ room. However, down the road, those remote compressors will last a whole lot longer, as opposed to those located behind the bar.”
For owners on a tighter budget, it’s important to know that not every type of refrigeration equipment in essential. Wine coolers, for example, are not necessary if you only offer a couple of wines by the glass. For those few bottles you will serve, your standard back bar cooler will suffice.
“These refrigerators share a lot of responsibility,” says Krol. “They can handle wine bottles, condiments, microbrews, or whatever. A back bar cooler is multi-purpose.”
No matter what the budget, you can avoid extra costs by being prepared for the installation of any refrigeration or ice-making equipment beforehand. In other words, make sure you measure ahead of time, and are aware of any electrical and plumbing requirements.
Bars and clubs can have different ice needs, especially when emphasis on cocktail presentation can make or break a drink. Gläce Luxury Ice, for example, is an attractive, value-added addition to any cocktail experience. Gläce may not work for every bar, club and lounge, but it is an opportunity to up-sell the drink menu and enhance the customer’s experience.
(For more information on Gläce Luxury Ice, pictured left, click here to read the sidebar to this article)
For bars that make most of their money on shots and beer, some popular ice machine manufacturers favored by Krol include Manitowoc, Perlick, Glastender, or Krowne. Krol notes that owners normally purchase these types of equipment from authorized dealers and not directly from the manufacturers.
“With ice machines, you need three pounds of ice per patron in a restaurant, and five pounds per person if there’s a bar,” says Krol. “A big mistake I see all the time is owners who undersize the ice capacity.
Kold-Draft, of Erie, Pennsylvania, manufactures a wide array of ice machines, bins, crushers, and dispensers, capable of producing from 300 to 2,400 pounds of pure ice per day (right). Each ice system can be configured to produce full cubes, half cubes, cubelets, or crushed ice.
Some types of equipment are truly only necessary if your bar or club specifically calls for them. Wine coolers, mug frosters, and frozen daiquiri machines, for example, can be very expensive and not worth the cost unless your bar is meant to generate the most revenue off of those type of drinks.
