Upcoming Restaurant Shows 2015

Happy New Year!

2015 is going to be an exciting year for the foodservice industry, are you aware of what’s coming?  The best way to stay on top of the latest news, trends, and equipment is to visit Restaurant, Equipment, or Food Shows.

NAFEM – http://www.nafem.org/

This is an absolutely enormous show, well worth anyone’s time.  Whether you deal with equipment, food, or any involvement in foodservice, this is the one to attend.  It’s held in Anaheim, California and will be running Feb 19th to Feb 21st.  Registration is necessary, so make plans now.

NRA – http://show.restaurant.org/

This show isn’t quite as large as NAFEM, but still worth at least one walk through.  There are more booths to visit than can be done in 1 day and plenty of contacts to make.  Unlike NAFEM, the NRA Food Show focuses on, you guessed it, Food.  That doesn’t stop equipment manufacturers from being there, but not as many as at NAFEM.  Registration is required and it is held in Chicago, Illinois.

Northwest Foodservice Show – http://nwfoodserviceshow.com/

Touting itself as the largest food and beverage show in the Pacific Northwest, if you own a restaurant, you might want to pay a visit.  This show caters to restaurants and less to equipment dealers, which means this is the show for you if you are looking for a new food item to sell in your cafe.  Registration is FREE, but required.

Atlanta Food Service Expo – http://www.atlantafoodserviceexpo.com/

If California is too far for you to travel to NAFEM in 2015, consider visiting Atlanta, Georgia.  The Atlanta Food Service Expo is going to be a huge conglomerate of foodservice equipment manufacturers, food vendors, and more.  Sure to be a great show if looking to rejuvenate your restaurant.  This Foodservice show runs from Oct 19th to the 20th.

The Secret To Saving Money With Ice

Ice machines have become a commodity, where every convenience store, bar, and restaurant is required to provide some sort of ice.  The cost of a commercial ice machine is higher than most businesses are able to immediately absorb.  But like other equipment in an establishment, there are cost cutting measures, and steps you can take to start saving money with ice.

Step 1 – Type of Ice

The type of ice is the first step to saving money with your ice machine.  If you are serving drinks, smaller cubes help displace more product.  This means that by buying an ice machine that makes smaller cubes, when a customer fills their drink, they put more ice in than soda.  Using less soda, but making the same amount of money per drink, puts money in your pocket.

Step 2 – Sizing The Machine

Next, consider the amount of ice you will actually need to operate.  The #1 biggest mistake you can make when purchasing a new or used ice machine is under sizing or not planning for growth.  It may go without saying, but having to buy another ice machine or purchase bags of ice to get by is much more expensive than buying the correct machine first.  Take the time to figure out exactly how much ice you need every day and take into consideration your growth goals.

Step 3 – Take Care of What You Have

Preventative maintenance will pay you back exponentially, if done properly.  It’s a hassle to clean your ice machine, but it’s a bigger hassle to pay large service bills.  The majority of ice machine failures can be attributed to nothing more than the equipment being dirty.  Make a plan now to regularly clean your air condenser, clean the evaporator, and remove components in the food zone and make sure they are clear of scale build up.  Investing in a quality water filter can help with this task and reduce the amount of cleanings required.

There are commercial ice makers that have been in use for more than 20 years and it’s common for them to last more than 10 years, even under heavy use.  The secret is to size properly, do preventative maintenance, and make sure you are getting the type of ice you need.  Take the time to do some research now, to have your ICE making you money in the future.

What type of ice do I need?

There are more choices for ice now, than in any other time in history. Commercial ice manufacturers are striving to make more varied ice, to meet the specific needs of varying establishments. Manitowoc, the leader in ice machine manufacturing, has 7 distinct ice types. Depending on your application, one may be a better option than the others.

Basic Ice

The most basic and typical type of ice you will encounter in a restaurant is dice or half-dice.  These cubes are considered hard ice, in regards to water to ice ratio.  They measure 7/8″ x 7/8″ x 7/8″ for Dice sized and 3/8″ x 1 1/8″ x 7/8″ for half-dice sized.

When filling drink cups, the better alternative is half-dice, because of it’s ability to totally fill a glass.  Business owners prefer this type, because it displaces the beverage, allowing more ice than the drink product.  This allows the owner to retain a higher profit margin, due to ice being cheaper to produce than the beverage product itself.

Dice cubes are preferred in applications where the ice is being used to fill coolers or water jugs.  The larger cube will typically last longer.  This is beneficial where a cooler or water jug will be filled in the morning, but not again till lunch or at the end of the day.

Gourmet Ice

A gourmet ice cube is described as being much larger than even the dice cube.  There are 2 sizes, that I would consider gourmet, the SM50 ice machine will produce an octagon shaped cube which measures 1 3/8″ x 1 3/8″.  In addition, the Regular sized cube is sized at 1 1/8″ x 1 1/8″ x 7/8″.  These are popular sizes to be used in bar drinks, much like the ‘rocks’ found in whiskey drinks.

Nugget and Flake Ice

Soft ice is a big topic among convenience store chains, where having a unique chewable ice can draw in customers.  For dispensers, the only option is the nugget ice, which contains a high water to ice ratio.  This creates a soft ice that a person can then chew on after finishing their  beverage.  There is a growing trend in this type of ice and is being ushered in by restaurants like Sonic.

Flake Ice, like nugget, is very soft and more water than ice.  Currently there is no way to dispense flake ice, due to it’s flaky texture.  This type of ice specializes in being used on seafood display beds or produce stands.  It is a way to cool product and lightly place items within the ice, while being exposed.  Grocery stores will most likely have a very large flaker ice machine in the back, to make their produce section look appealing.

When choosing the best type of ice.

Always consult a local expert, when trying to decide on the type of ice needed.  Often then can guide you on the type of ice that best fits your needs.  Remember to save money, by buying what you need and not what you want.  Some commercial ice machines are more expensive during the life of the machine, due to the special types of ice that they produce.  The basic cubes will always be less expensive and offer a lower cost of ownership.

Fix Ice Machines Yourself and Save

DIY doesn’t have to be all about the home, what about the business?  Restaurants seem to be a volatile business in 2014, so cutting costs and saving money are very important to every owner.  Trained service technicians are expensive, but thanks to the internet, common problems and solutions exist to repair ice machines yourself, before calling a local service company.

One of the best ways to fix a commercial ice machine is to have the right tools.  The #1 tool to have is a service technician handbook, written specifically for your model ice machine.  You can purchase these little handbooks or, in some cases, download the PDF versions for free.  Even trained technicians rely on Service Technician Handbooks, or service manuals,  and do not visit the job site with one in hand.

Ice is Food

So many people do not consider ice to be a food product.  However, it goes in our mouths, we digest it, so why shouldn’t we hold ice to the same strict criteria that normal food products have?  Restaurant owners should take ice quality, sanitation, and cleanliness just as serious as other more visible food in their establishment.

Food inspectors are also starting to take note of ice machine and ice storage locations.  Are you storing the ice scoop in the ice, is the storage bin clean, is the ice zone in the ice machine clean of mold, and are the ice transportation buckets washed regularly?  These are all things that should be considered in normal cleaning procedures, every day in any restaurant or bar.  People eat ice, let’s make sure it’s safe.

The ice scoop in an ice storage bin should always be stored outside of the ice itself.  Also, make sure the bin door seals properly, keeping air flow out.  The evaporator in the ice machine, where the ice forms, is considered a food zone, wipe it down and keep it clean of mold and bacteria.  When transporting ice from a storage bin to a dispenser, keep that bucket or cart clean as well.

Clean ice can improve the taste of your beverages and help you avoid costly and reputation hurting dings on your inspection report.  Take steps now to ensure your ice storage and production location is clean.  Open doors, remove parts, and properly sanitize when necessary.  Clean ice machines work better, are more efficient, and the ice produced tastes better.  Keep your profits in your pockets, by reducing service calls, keep your ice machine and ice bin clean.

Why Filter Ice Machine Water

Filtering an ice machine requires specialized filters, typically not found on other food service equipment that uses water.  Most commercial ice machines require a special chemical treatment to reduce lime scale, reduce chlorine taste, and help purify the water for exceptionally clear ice.  Ice machine filters provide a number of benefits, not limited to the quality of the ice.

Let’s first consider what a ice machine water filter does.

• reduces chlorine taste and odor
• reduces sediment
• treats the incoming water for scale with siliphos chemical.
• reduces cyst
• when sized properly has enough capacity for ice production

The above bullet points benefit you by helping the ice machine run as efficiently as possible, while producing the most pure ice possible.  Dirty water takes the longest time to freeze, so clean water will increase the efficiency of your ice machine.  It will keep customers happy because you will have a healthier and better looking product to fill their drinks.

Remember, ice is a food product, so keeping the food zone of an ice machine clean is very important.  Having an ice filter will allow more time in between potentially expensive service calls for cleaning.

An expensive investment like an ice machine should be protected by a water filter system.  The up front increase in cost is easily off set by reduced service calls, happy customers, and a more efficient piece of kitchen equipment.  Saving energy costs will only become more important in the future, so doing little things now, like keeping a filtration system, will pay back on electric and water bills.

For help with sizing a water filter system for your ice machine, contact the experts at Ice Maker Parts Shop.  They carry a full line of 3M and Arctic Pure water filter systems and replacement cartridges.

Ice Machine Water Filters – http://icemakerpartsshop.com

What is a grocerant?

A grocerant is a term used to describe a traditional grocery store that also sells fully prepared food.  Think about how you can now go into your local Schnucks grocery and walk out with your standard bread, milk, and now fully cooked chickens.  It’s a convenience and a profitable one for the grocery store owners.

The grocerant has gained momentum in 2013 as traditional grocery stores try to maximize profits in a shrinking economy.  They already have the customers, so now they are focusing on providing quality foods, fully prepared, in appealing packaging.  The convenience of picking up a meal for the family, while running errands, is paying off according to foodservice industry analysts.

Other popular examples of grocerant locations:

• Walgreens
• Liquor Stores
• Gyms
• Ikea
• Costco

All it takes to become a grocerant, is to provide a ready to eat food item(or ready to heat and eat) next to a service or items that would typically need to be prepared at home.  For example, some gym’s are now offering healthy meals for sale.  This allows customers to work out, then grab a complete meal, to simply heat up and eat later.

How can you work a grocerant into your establishment to grow profits and capture customers while they are in your store?

Why Buy A Koolaire Ice Machine?

The first post on my foodservice blog will talk about the all new Koolaire ice machine by Manitowoc.  This low cost alternative to the now very popular and market share leading Indigo, has some great benefits for restaurants on a budget.  Let’s consider the costs and find out if a Koolaire ice machine is right for your establishment.

Koolaire Benefits

• low cost.
• shares many of the same components as a more expensive Indigo.
• easy to clean and maintain.
• no complicated controls.

Thanks to the Koolaire ice machine design, it’s perfect for low impact operations.  I would personally recommend the Koolaire ice machine to anyone operating a hotel, gas station, or bar.  These machines, at a low price, can be easily purchased and placed almost anywhere.  It’s a simple ice machine for a simple need, ice.

Koolaire Cons

• not Energy Star qualified.
• does not accept ice machine accessories.
• limited warranty.
• controls more likely to fail due to cleanliness.

Manitowoc Indigo ice machines have paved the way in ice maker technology.  Thanks to developments, they can now run even when their sensors fail due to being dirty.  This saves the restaurant owner money on service calls, since they can wait till normal business hours for a technician to arrive.

In addition, an industry leading 3 year parts and labor on the entire machine can also save an ice machine owner money.  Koolaire comes with a standard 1 year parts and labor, exposing the owner to potentially higher service costs.

In closing, I would recommend buying a Koolaire ice machine over the Manitowoc Indigo in applications where money is tight.  This is done with the understanding that you are buying a lower quality machine, with less warranty.  Compare Indigo to Koolaire  yourself and see.  Perhaps your restaurant, bar, or hotel can’t afford the top of the line Indigo, the Koolaire would certainly be the second choice in commercial ice machines.