Finding the right commercial appliances can be a very difficult task. Odds are that you run a small business, so investing in something as significant as a stovetop or an oven is a big decision.
Make the wrong decision and the appliance could have a negative effect on your food, your finances, and your customer base. So, it’s important that you make the right choices.
We’re going to take a quick look at how to choose commercial kitchen appliances for your restaurant, giving you some insight into factors that should come into consideration.
Let’s get started.
Space Is the First Consideration
The first thing to think about is where in the world this appliance is going to fit. If you’re running a kitchen and need to replace something that broke down, your job is made a lot easier.
You can just order something that matches the dimensions of the previous appliance. If that appliance was working well for your business, you might consider buying the exact same one again.
That said, new restaurants have to shoot in the dark when it comes to appliances that they might need. Make sure that you designate specific spaces with dimensions to specific appliances.
You want to make sure that there’s room for everything, sure, but you also want to establish a good workflow. If you invest in a full kitchen of appliances and find that the arrangement isn’t to your liking, you might not be able to situate everything in the right places when moved.
For example, some stoves have a set of fixtures and hookups that are specific to the space they occupy. Similar to the way that a sink is hooked up to the plumbing, kitchen appliances often require more than an electrical plugin.
So, give yourself an idea of the workflow and try your best to invest in appliances that will work well together. The idea is that you shouldn’t have to move things around once they’re installed.
Don’t Overspend Without Reason
You’ve got a fancy loan or sum of money that’s dedicated to opening a restaurant. Take a look at any new restaurant and you’ll see glimmering new devices and appliances that we can only guess at the cost of.
The thing is, investing in very expensive appliances will not make your food any better. Further, your customers won’t know the difference in price when they look at the appliance.
Just try to invest in something that you know can do the job effectively. If you have a lot of kitchen experience, you might want to buy one of the machines that you once used in a different kitchen. There might be a few necessary, expensive appliances in your kitchen, but you don’t have to buy a full set of matching ones.
It’s easy to get sold on the glimmering appliances, but they’re not always the ones that will provide you with the highest quality result. Further, these devices might not be as efficient as the cheaper alternatives.
Make Decisions With Some Help
The best person to make decisions about kitchen appliances is a chef who has a lot of experience working in different restaurants. You might think you’re ready to choose every element of your lovely new shop, but the reality is that you want the business to work and stay in business for as long as possible.
Part of that is opening up with the right equipment, situated in the correct arrangement, and at the price that your business can afford. Someone who has worked with a number of restaurants will know what’s needed for a shop of your size.
They’ll also understand how the kitchen workflow operates with individuals in it. It might not seem like something that makes that much of a difference, but a well-organized kitchen could be the difference between a three and four-star restaurant.
Your food will come out quicker, it will be created more consistently with the same quality, and your employees will be happier. Over years and years of operation, those factors are what you can build a lasting business out of.
At that point, whether or not you chose the fanciest oven won’t matter. What will matter is the way you set up your kitchen right off of the bat to create a good environment for your happy employees to make food for customers.
Don’t Forget the Rest of the Restaurant
The next time you go to a shop or restaurant, take a look at the interior of the dining room or lobby. You might notice that there are a lot of appliances everywhere that you didn’t recognize as appliances before.
Things like display fridges, cases, and more are all common. These appliances are big sellers, too, because they give the customer the chance to pick things out for themselves.
In a coffee shop, for example, there are also a number of appliances that exist behind the counter and apart from the kitchen. Sinks, fridges, coolers, and more are all needed to run a good shop.
So, make sure you think about all of the areas where you might be able to place an appliance that would help the business. You can shop display fridges now to start thinking about what kind of style you’d like or where you could fit various other appliances in your shop.
While you’re at it, make sure that you explore all of your warranty, return, and conditional options. Understand what you’re able to do if the device breaks down, and write that information down somewhere safe.
That way, you can know full-well how to handle the machine, what you’re liable for, and how you can maintain your financial wellbeing if anything were to go wrong.
Want to Learn More About Commercial Appliances?
Hopefully, our discussion of commercial appliances was helpful to you as you start to furnish your kitchen. There’s a lot more to learn, though, and it’s important to have a full understanding of your devices before they’re installed.
We’re here to help. Explore our site for more ideas on restaurant appliances, kitchen tactics, and much more.