General

The best ice machines for restaurants are purchased when you know what to look for. Several aspects like commercial ice machine types, compressors, & drain requirements will factor into your choice. Making these mistakes when buying ice machines will lead to a poor purchase that can quickly become a loss-generating investment. We outline five important mistakes to avoid when purchasing ice machines so you can help yourself to the best ice machines for restaurants.

With Halloween just around the corner, restaurants and bars across the country are gearing up for holiday-themed menus and inviting embellishments. Be it spooky costumes or an array of lit-up jack-o-lanterns, executing the perfect Halloween theme with just the right balance of spookiness and invitation will take a little creativity and the readiness to experiment! In this article, we discuss the top restaurant and bar Halloween ideas to attract your customers and generate a great vibe. Use these tricks for a fun holiday!

Ice is one of the most commonly available ingredients in the restaurant kitchen. While many eateries restrict their use to the beverage and dessert section, cooking with ice can provide great results. Whether it’s to retain texture in vegetables, create smooth emulsions, delicious desserts, or aerated beverages, ice in the kitchen can do it all. We provide valuable ice cooking techniques to help you master the art of running a utilitarian kitchen and creating top-notch dishes. 

Mocktails are non-alcoholic drinks that are made from juices, sodas, sweetened water, and other ingredients. Mocktails are made to replicate the flavors of gin, vermouth, bourbon, bitters, and other different types of alcoholic drinks. Most mocktails are accompanied by dishes that complement their flavor. Virgin mocktails are derived from their cocktail counterparts. Modern mocktails are mostly made from ginger ale, club soda, flavored syrup, juice, and lime. You will need high-quality blenders and mixers for mixing syrup, fruits, vegetables, water, and ice for your mocktails. In this article, we share insights on the true meaning of mocktails or what are mocktails, the most popular mocktail recipes, celebrity mocktail recipes, and essential equipment required to make mocktails.

Whether you’re mixing cocktails for an event to serve patrons at your bar or restaurant, or just putting together a soiree, understanding the chemistry of the world’s favorite alcoholic drinks can be instrumental in improving their taste. Indeed, their sweetness can be influenced by the type of sugar, their measure on the ‘sweetness scale’, and even your patrons’ genetics! In this article, we discuss essential details about the sweetness, chemistry, and composition of cocktails to help your mixologists unlock the alcoholic delicacy to its utmost potential.

Coffee is one of the favorite hot beverages in the Americas. There are various ways to prepare a fresh cup and each method is specialized in its own way. There is pour-over coffee vs French press, the style of drip coffee vs French press, and even French press iced coffee to consider when making your favorite cup. For a quick beverage that is hassle-free to make, consider using a drip coffee maker. If you have some time and patience on your hands, both pour-over, and French press methods are excellent at providing aromatic and flavorful results. With some experience and skill on your side, delivering a refreshing cup should never be a hassle.

Drink mixers are both non-alcoholic additives and tools that can help you make better drinks. While electric drink mixers help you with how to mix a drink, mixers like club soda, tonic water, and lemon juice help with expanding your drink menu. With a large list of possibilities that await your bar, businesses need to know how to use a mixer so they can offer a vast variety of cocktails to their guests. The article details the varieties of mixers, their uses, and the drinks that can be made using them.

In this article, we discuss cocktail tomatoes, the best ways to prepare cocktail tomatoes, the best tomato juice cocktail recipes for restaurants, and the essential equipment needed for serving cocktails in a bar or pub. 

Corporate happy hours help your employees to unwind and relax after a busy work week. In this article, we share the best company happy hour ideas, when business happy hour shouldbe held, how to pick the perfect location to host a corporate happy hour and essential bar equipment needed for a corporate happy hour.

Bar equipment can not only be expensive but also confusing to choose from. With options like leases, new and used bar equipment always on the table, business owners are faced with a rather difficult question when it comes to equipping their bar. While used and new bar equipment has its own advantages and disadvantages, the food business world still is split into different opinions on the matter. With leases becoming more popular, the subject becomes more complicated. With this article, we aim to list the advantages and disadvantages of each option, helping you make a decision whether you should lease or buy used or new bar supplies and equipment. 

For commercial foodservice establishment owners, it is important to develop innovative marketing ideas for restaurants and bars. Understanding your customer base is essential for bar marketing. Marketing for bars is important to gain a competitive advantage over similar establishments. Having an effective marketing strategy will generate awareness and interest among patrons. This article provides a brief overview of bar marketing ideas, how to market a bar, and some of the best bar advertising ideas. 

It’s the right time to begin serving tea at your establishment as tea is only bound to get bigger in terms of market value and demand. We present to you a tea guide that includes the best tea for beginners, the types of tea, and tea brewing methods so you can steep tea yourself and offer the best tea to your customers.

Opening your own whiskey or bourbon bar can be a thrilling experience. With good knowledge of the amber nectar, you can create a haven for whiskey lovers. You’ll have to take the right steps to open a bar, such as obtaining licenses and creating an inviting atmosphere, and you’ll see your business skyrocket. Take a deep breath and plunge into the intricate world of whiskey and you can create a brand that will be the talk of the town when it comes to sophistication.

Choosing a coffee maker can be a tough choice, but one that is highly dictated by your customer base. Coffee shops, restaurants and diners all rely on trustworthy coffee makers that can make a perfect cup of coffee every time. If you run a coffee machine business, investing in a specialized commercial coffee maker makes perfect sense. There are traditional ways to make coffees like filter coffee and Turkish coffee, but these require dedicated staff to prepare the beverage. For a quick and easy way to service your high-volume business, look for a trustworthy commercial coffee maker. 

Alcohol is capable of either filling up an establishment's coffers or emptying them. This is why effective liquor pricing is essential so you can rest assured that your bar is bringing you desired profits. Different types of alcohol can go by different pricing models owing to the methods they're served. The article also discusses wholesale liquor and wine pricing, and standard quantities to help you determine costs down to the ounce so you don't miss out on a single cent. 

Having a comprehensive knowledge of cocktail measures will help you run a successful cocktail bar business. Understanding different measurement tools will help make exact drink measures. Cocktail measurement methods will help you attain consistency in taste and also help you grow your business sustainably. In this article, we discuss cocktail measures, drink measurements, bar measuring tools, how to use a jigger, cocktail measuring cup, free pour, and other bar equipment that you will need for your business.

he strange name, with obscure origins, has done little to de-mystify the question that is - “what is a jigger?”. Simply put, jiggers are graduated glasses that help your bartenders make sure they’re serving the right quantity of liquor. This article removes the confusion around jiggers, and answers questions like how many ounces in a jigger with a simple guide and concise information.

Liquor cost or the pour cost is the total cost of making a drink. Knowing the exact quantity, price of alcohol and ingredients used will help you set the right price for a cocktail. In this article, we discuss how to price bar drinks, how many ounces are in a shot, how to set cocktail prices, the average cost of drinks, the differences between jigger vs shot, cocktail measure, and other factors. 

What is ice wine? The answer might be more complicated than you might imagine. The article entails the processes of how to make ice wine, how to store ice wine, and the many different foods it can be paired with to give you just the right experience when it comes to this delectable dessert wine.

A cocktail is more than just a drink that’s made by blending spirits with different flavors and non-alcoholic ingredients - it is an experience. This experience can be greatly enhanced by the kind of glassware the drink is served in. Cocktail glasses can add to the patron’s enjoyment of the drink by keeping the drink at its desired temperature, magnifying the aroma of the ingredients and making the presentation look enticing. There are various types of cocktail glasses for specialty cocktails and they all serve the same purpose - to raise the cocktail from just another drink to something memorable.

A smoothie business can give high-profit margins, requires minimum prepping, has low startup costs, and no prior experience is required to begin with. In this article, we discuss the definition of a smoothie bar, how to start a smoothie business, and tips to make a delicious smoothie.

Adding fresh juice to your establishment can help attract a whole new customer segment to your business. Different fruits yield different quantities of juice. It can be difficult to measure the amount of fruit you need to serve a single cup of fruit juice. In this article, we discuss how many of the most common fruits are necessary to make a cup of their juice. We share insights and real-time data about juicing, tips for commercial kitchens, and how to deliver the tastiest glass of juice.

Gourmet ice is a great way to provide an upgrade for your guests and add some extra pizzazz to your drinks. But not all gourmet ice machines are created equal, making it difficult to know what the best ice maker is for you.

Coffee is a staple for many people, but what if you're trying to avoid milk? There are so many options these days! As a restaurant owner or food service manager, you understand how essential non-dairy milk alternatives are for some coffee drinkers. You are also aware of how critical it is you offer milk substitutes for coffee that taste good.

We live in the wonderful age of modern ice machines. Unlike our forefathers, who had to either ship it or harvest it from mountains and frozen ponds, all you need to do is press a button and get loads of perfect ice cubes for your customers’ summer cocktails. But how do commercial ice makers work? We break down the process to help you understand the magic of ice makers. 

Nothing is as invigorating as a chilled glass of sangria on a hot afternoon. A sip of this summer staple instantly refreshes and cools you. 
But how long does sangria last? Can it be refrigerated? If you’ve made more sangria than you need and want to find out what to do with it, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s some information on this famous cocktail and tips on how to store that extra sangria. 

A sophisticated and elegant wine service for guests is critical to the success of any restaurant or bar.

Learning how to serve champagne conveys attention to detail and care for guests’ requirements. Tips on champagne serving not only benefits your business and improves revenue, but will also help servers earn better tips.

Commercial ice machine cleaning unsurprisingly calls for more attention to detail than, say, a homeowner cleaning out the ice bowl before hosting a party. Despite the difference, commercial ice machine cleaning can be quite straightforward if you know what you are doing.

Have you thought about what it would take to open a juice bar? Well, it is easier than you think! Take a moment to learn some of the ins and outs of the juice bar industry. 

While size, flavors, obscure ingredients, etc. vary, thickness is a standard component of the smoothie-making process. You do not want your smoothie to turn out like icy juice. A smoothie should have a thick texture. To ensure you achieve your desired consistency, check out the tips and suggestions below on how to make a smoothie thicker.

Bottle service creates an aura of exclusivity and a personalized experience for patrons.

Once understood and implemented, bottle service can become a vital avenue for profits as well as a way to attract affluent clubgoers.

Today, two major trends dominate the soft drink and milk drink sectors: Beverages should be 100 percent from natural ingredients and should not contain added sugar.

It’s against this background that malt beverages provide plenty of promise. This is because these drinks are in line with both trends. 

As more and more customers request malt beverages, it’s important to know what they bring to the table. Plus, it helps to settle the malt beverage vs. beer debate once and for all.

Finding the right soda machine for your restaurant is important. It can increase your profit margins, make your customers stay longer (and possibly order more food), easily dispense drinks, and give you different flavor choices. Here, you'll learn how soda machines work and the reason fountain sodas taste so good. 

As warmer weather approaches, you can’t help but crave a nice iced latte or iced coffee. With your favorite iced caffeinated beverage in hand, it almost feels like summer. All you have to decide is whether to order an iced latte versus iced coffee.

Restaurant owners study beverage trends to know what flavor of iced latte and iced coffee will be trendy for the season. If your establishment offers more than just plain black coffee, you will need to know the difference between these fancy coffee drinks.  

Bubble tea goes by several different names, including boba tea and pearl milk tea. This unique beverage originated in Taichung, Taiwan, in the early 1980s. The little chewy tapioca pearls have, however, been used as dessert toppings long before their use in bubble tea. 

Since the first bubble tea business took off, thousands of shops have started popping up across the globe. This is thanks to the tea’s immense popularity among consumers, with the gross bubble tea business profit margins averaging between 75% and 80%.

Are you debating whether or not investing in a bubble tea business is worth it? Then you’re in the right place! Here’s what you need to know about getting started with your own bubble tea business.

As a food service business owner, shrink costs are always a concern. Opened but unfinished bottles of wine contribute to that stress. 

It’s important to have fresh wine available for your guests at all times, but do you know how to reseal a wine bottle?  

Along with other beverage trends, it’s usual to offer various wines to your guests and expect them to enjoy the experience. That requires the wine to be fresh, preferably uncorked. Since the latter isn’t always possible, you may have to get creative to keep opened wine from spoiling.  

Most consumers have a signature milkshake they crave during the warmer months. However, have you ever entered an establishment offering malted shake instead of the typical milkshake? While the two terms may seem interchangeable, they are very different beverages. 

So, in the great shake vs. malt debate, what sets one apart from the other?

Food delivery businesses have been garnering more attention than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With restaurants unable to welcome in-house diners, they had to find ways to remain active within their community. While some started up their own restaurant delivery services, others decided to partner up with the food delivery businesses in their community.

Like many other industries, the food and beverage industry took quite the hit in 2020 during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. With global shutdowns affecting the production and supply chain of beverages and stores being unable to sell their product, the beverage industry had to reevaluate how they did business. Not only that, but they were also forced to take a closer look at beverage trends to see what it was the public wanted the most to encourage them to actively purchase while being forced to stay home.