Monday, February 11, 2013

Beer Supplies & Draft Beer Equipment from Rapids Wholesale

Click here for Rapids Wholesale Beer Supplies

Our friends from Perlick, in business since 1917, offered us this tried and true wisdom from their unique view of the Foodservice and Hospitality industry.  They note you will always find more PROFIT poured at the bar than cooked in your kitchen.  And draft beer is the MOST PROFITABLE adult beverage sold.  So, if you want to make more money . . . sell more beer!  Sounds easy doesn't it?  Well it certainly can be, but where many bar and restaraunt owners may struggle is in managing the efficiency and quality of how you get that beer to your customer's eager lips.  Mastering this process of distribution and presentation, from ice cold cans or bottles to glycol long draw systems, results in satisfied, repeat customers and bulging bottom lines.

The easiest beer delivery system is a cooler packed with bottles or cans.  Although easier to install than draft systems, they are rarely as profitable.  To insure the highest quality and efficiency, look to quality beer coolers from our vendor parnters Perlick, TRUE, Beverage Air, and Turbo Air.  Sure it is possible to use a standard consumer refridgerator, but rarely are they built sturdy enough to support the load of inventory you will need or the frequency of use.  They are not designed to keep bottles as cold with frequent opening and closing.  Your customers will likely complain about warm beer and you'll be replacing it inside of a year.  You still have lots of options with these affordable beer coolers.


Find Top Load Coolers Here

Top loaded bottle coolers offer higher capacity with the same footprint as a standard cooler because you can stack your product.  Also, there are no doors to swing out and clip the ankles and knees of your service staff.  Open doors can present a trip hazard in a smaller working space like behind a bar.  And your bartenders won't have to bend over as far to grab the product from the top.


Find Display Coolers Here

Display coolers can be used to highlight specialty products.  Although the glass doors are more expensive to produce than solid doors, this can provide a relatively inexpensive merchandising and advertising option.  Let the product's unique packaging advertise itself!  It also allows the service staff the ability to quickly identify a product for speedy retrieval.  Be sure to have your staff always face the stock in these coolers before and at the end of every shift.  A properly faced and stocked display cooler will garner repeat customers when they see their favorite brand is always readily available in your establishment.


Find Beer Dispensers Here

Keg coolers are beer dispensers that resemble back bar coolers, but they hold kegs of beer instead of bottles and cans.  You can find them in sizes that will hold anywhere from one to five kegs at a time.  Equip them with proper beer towers and beer faucets, attach the proper tapping gear and CO2 and you have a complete keg beer dispersal system.  

A big advantage of using a draft beer dispenser is that you can generally store and chill a tapped keg of beer inside a good-quality unit for a very long time and the beer will remain in perfect serving condition.  As long as the lines remain properly cleaned, there will be no change in the taste.

Long Draw systems allow for the kegs to be stored back in walk-in coolers, out of the way.  They require a little more setup to make sure the beer can travel the greater distance and remain cold.  For more on how Rapids Wholesale can help you with whichever beer distribution system makes sense for your place, check out this video!





Also remember that proper serving temperture of beer is between 38-42F.  Kegs are usually delivered too warm and need up to 18 hours to bring down to the perfect serving temperture.  Dirty glassware can  greatly affect the way draft beer pours.  Bubbles will stick to grime on the sides of the glass.  Dust and dirt will cause rapid foaming and obviously affect the taste of the brew.  Foam is 25% liquid, and when your staff is dumping unnecessary foam, they're dumping profit down the drain.  Glass rinsers lubricate and cool the inside of the glass to ensure a better pour.  Serve with a smile!

CHECK OUT OUR EDUCATION PAGE HERE FOR MORE!


CHEERS!

Paul at Rapids Wholesale

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

So, You Want To Open A Restaurant...

So, You Want To Open A Restaurant...
Good for you! Owning and operating a restaurant or bar can be rewarding. Overcoming challenges and exploiting opportunities makes the hospitality industry an addictive environment for the right individuals. Rapids has been there for many entrepreneurs as they have considered this big step toward independence.

When it comes to the tools of the trade, smallwares are the foundation of any food service enterprise. Smart operators realize that consistency in everything from portioning to presentation to prep is important in driving repeat business. The basics such as measuring cups, tongs and spatulas help create signature consistency.

If that sounds like a lot of importance attached to a collection of plastic and metal bits and pieces, think about it this way: these are the products that will be reached for most often in any facility. A set of measuring cups will get touched more often each day than an oven handle. Portion control utensils such as spoons and ladles can mean the difference between profit and loss. Smallwares are important, their cost and acquisition should occupy an appropriate amount of planning and procurement time.

At Rapids we have a series of smallwares checklists created around several of the more popular venues. When we specify the equipment list for our design / procurement contracts we use lists just like these to make sure we don't miss anything. We think that they will make a great starting point for anyone in the planning stages of opening a restaurant, so we have made them available on our website.

When using a checklist like those listed below don't be afraid to edit and substitute. These lists are based on recommendations in type and quantity, not brand and price. Having a set of kitchen floor plan drawings along side will be helpful too. Where a list might suggest two 36" dunnage racks your floor plan might dictate that a 36" and a 48" pairing is a better fit. No pre-published equipment list can anticipate every need or desire, but our lists make for a great starting point!

Browse and download these lists, write up a lot of questions, then give the folks in our catalog sales department a call and let Rapids help you refine your needs. Or go directly to the Rapids Wholesale website and compile a sample order for budgeting purposes.

Choose the closest list type to your restaurant concept:


Monday, February 4, 2013

Welcome!

Welcome to the Rapids Blog! This is our home for e-Newsletter content, editorials, tips and techniques and all of the other information provided by Rapids.

By basing Rapids e-Newsletter content in a blog we all benefit from a searchable database of articles and topics. Over time, this archive can become an invaluable resource to food service owners, operators and professionals. Subscribe to Rapids e-Newsletter HERE and always get a heads up when new content has been added to the blog!