One of the most rewarding and exciting industries to work in is this restaurant business, especially if this is going to be your own business. However, just like running any business this is going to be hard work and you will have to dedicate pretty much all your time to running a restaurant. Most quality restaurants will be open for 6 or 7 days a week and this will typically involve some very early starts and many late nights. You should have sorted out a theme or concept for your restaurant and have a business plan in place, but something else which is extremely important is the equipment you will require. This post will introduce you to the various types of equipment you will need to start a restaurant.
Equipment for the Kitchen
Firstly, you should be aware that the type of equipment you will need for a commercial kitchen is very different from the appliances you use at home. All the equipment you purchase will need to be restaurant grade and will have to carry the blue sticker, which proves it has been approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). Some of the more common equipment for the kitchen will include stoves, fryers, steamers, blenders, pots and pans, dishwashers, cutlery, measuring apparatus and machines which produce beverages, both hot and cold. You will also need other furniture for your kitchen, such as shelving and countertops.
Equipment Required for the Front-of-House
Once you’ve sorted out your kitchen you will need to decide what type of equipment you want at the front of your restaurant. The most obvious form of equipment is tables and chairs to seat your customers, as well as cutlery, silverware and condiments. You will also need a variety of glasses to serve various drinks, cups or mugs for hot beverages and paper items, including serviettes, etc. If you are running a specialty restaurant you may need certain utensils that fit in with the restaurant, e.g. chopsticks for a Chinese restaurant.
Other Equipment
Modern restaurants will now typically have all types of mod-cons to help them run their operations and businesses. Most restaurants no longer complete all of their operations manually, so you will need items such as tills, cash registers, etc. This should also include equipment to process credit card payments and a point of sale system, which can be used for credit and debit cards. You will also want to have telephones, both for the business and the customers, as well as some kind of security system. This can be used as an alarm system when you are not there at night and also a short-circuit television system to record the goings-on of the restaurant.
These are the basic requirements for any restaurant business and are enough to get you started and your business off the ground. You will now need to decide where you are going to buy your restaurant equipment from and whether this will be completely new or used equipment. The first place you should start your search is online, as there is a vast array of companies which provide approved restaurant equipment.
The author of this post, Andrew Smith, is a part of the team at USA Equipment Direct, specialists in restaurant equipment. A tech enthusiast, he is always on the lookout for the latest gadgets and the newest apps to hit the marketplace.