BackBar Fridges – A Crucial Fixture in Every Bar

Back bars are designed to merchandise ready-to-serve drinks at hospitality venues. While they may appear to serve a simple function, their role in facilitating quality service cannot be overstated.  They are crucial cogs in the service wheel for both bars and cafe’s, as their vertical capacity lends itself to housing everything from beer and wine to juices and table water. Here we will take a closer look at back bars and the ways in which they can improve your service.

Storage:

This type of fridge, as a result of its extended height, is able to store any type of bottle or drinks container your business may sell. The cabinet height allows for drinks to be poured on top of the back counter, and this makes beverage service much easier for front of house staff. These fridges are naturally perfect for storing beer and wine, and they are also the best option to house any packaged item in a cafe (Kombucha, bottled juice, cold-brew, soft drink etc.). Importantly, the height and storage capacity of back bars frees up space and options for other equipment, such as higher capacity ice machines or storage cabinets.

Service Flow:

Back bars improve service flow through maintaining defined channels between front and back of house, eliminating the need for front of house staff to frequently enter cold room or kitchen areas. When these channels overflow and the lines between the service area becomes blurred, staff are constantly getting in each other’s way and delaying fast paced service. Back bars ensure that tables receive their drinks quickly and when served at the bar, customers are prompted to make quick decisions before receiving their order straight away. Table water can also be stored in back bars to aid in seamless transitions whilst flipping tables.

Display:

The vertical storage capacity of backbars is greater than that of a standard under counter prep fridge, and this means that drinks can be displayed upright on multiple levels. Without a back bar, drinks would have to be stored lying down. This would result in wine bottles leaking, and an inability for customers to see what’s on offer. Frameless glass is ideal in a back bar as, when coupled with in-built LED lighting, it provides optimum visibility and merchandising.

Design:

As they inhabit an important and central space within your venue, it is important for back bars to look sleek and well aligned with your interior design. Back bars are designed to subtly enhance the surrounding features of your bar and display drinks at optimum lighting for the space that they occupy.

Next you’re out and about, take notice of bar cabinet installs. Many are plinth or hob mounted, this is for a few reasons. Backbar fridges by nature are long – to account for number of doors needed. Bench construction for an inbuilt look becomes difficult to span these lengths between leg supports. This is amplified by the bar stock or shelving weights on top of the backbar bench – meaning fridges on wheels are far less common in these scenarios. Additionally, the wheels in a busy bar environment add to cavities and crevices that need to be cleaned, and these fridges can be heavy to move when fully stocked.

Opting for proper back bar style cabinetry also allows for the option of customisation, and this means that cabinets can be precisely weaved into your design concept. Venues perusing a perfectly refined aesthetic can opt for modifications such as customised colours, additional doors, corner installs, remote refrigeration and left/right motor configuration.

Solid backbar door options are becoming more popular, as they help reduce light bleed into a moody bar space, others opting for custom lighting options with colour temperatures and dimming features.

If you’re looking to improve service flow and maximise the functionality of your front of house operations, we highly recommend that you opt for proper back bar style cabinetry and put time in to finding a unit that is perfect for your space.

Shop Back Bar Cabinets