Making the most of your back-bar
How do you organise the limited back-bar space so it is a powerful sales tool? Phil Mellows explains.
Here's a little exercise that will take you just a couple a minutes but could put you on the path to higher profits. Come out from behind that counter, walk across the bar and turn around. Imagine you're a customer, a new customer just arrived, and you're not sure what you want to drink (as research assures us most customers aren't).
Now walk towards the bar. What do you see? There will be all the beer pumps on the front-bar, then, hopefully, a smiling barperson, and then the back-bar. Big, isn't it? In fact, by the time you have reached it, the counter it will pretty well fill your field of vision.
That means your back-bar is more than a place to store drinks and other bits and bobs. It is a powerful selling tool. Look around it. What stands out? Does anything stand out? Is it well organised, drawing your eye to banks of similar products? Or is it a muddle, full of clutter? Are you really using it to advertise what you sell? Are you using it to attract people to specific products, the ones, for whatever reason, you want to sell more of?
Even if you're doing all the right things, back-bar merchandising is continually under space pressure. There are always decisions to be made on which products to highlight.
This is especially true when it comes to your fridges. It seems a long time ago now that pubs had open cold shelves from which bottles of beer could be served often complete with a block of ice attached. In the last decade or so glass-fronted fridges have become the norm. They are a great, unsung advance - a victory for civilisation. But they are not problem-free.
In the hustle and bustle of a busy pub your back-bar space will be at a premium. There is an ever-increasing range of bottled drinks competing against one another to grab the customer's attention - not only beers now but soft drinks and alcopops.
Your challenge is to create enough room to accommodate the stock and to display it in a way that catches the eye, or at least makes it easy for drinkers to find what they are looking for. To cope with the demands of a busy night, back-bar equipment also has to operate efficiently as bottles are taken out and replenished and doors continually opened and closed. It has to be robust enough to survive a punishing level of wear and tear.
The latest refrigerated display and back-bar counters have been designed with these testing demands in mind, while giving equal consideration to aesthetic appeal and effective display. A range of equipment is now available to meet the needs of a a variety of bars.
Bottle coolers are one of the main focal points of any pub. Visual impact and good product presentation is necessary for any back-bar refrigeration to drive interest and sales. For easy customer visibility, chillers should not only feature a large glass front but have effective lighting. While in terms of practicality they need to have adjustable shelves to meet the varying requirements of modern and distinctive bottle designs.
On the technical side, the refrigeration systems of bottle coolers need to maintain an interior temperature of between 4 degrees C and 10 degrees C, so you need coolers that have variable thermostats that enable barstaff to adjust temperatures within the preset parameters according to usage and the temperature in the bar.
Interior design is an increasingly important aspect for many pubs these days and bottle coolers have to complement the aesthetics, harmonising with the décor as well as meet the practical requirements.
These might include single and double-door chillers in stainless steel or coated in hardwearing black PVC. Even with the doors the detail can be an important consideration and some bottle coolers are available, for instance, with sleek curved handles in an attractive brushed bronze finish.
A variety of options can be supplied including double-glazed glass, stainless steel interiors, solid doors and connection to remote refrigeration systems. (In one of the latest technical advances Williams Refrigeration has produced a new remote glycol system). Bottle coolers can be free-standing, fitted under a back-bar worktop or on shelving to give the impression of double-stacking. And when bar space is limited, you could try top-loading bottle coolers known as bottle wells that are designed for quick service while allowing barstaff to maintain eye contact.
Options include locks for added security, built in bottle openers, easy to remove dividers for the storage of different brands of drinks and an external speed rail.
How to select a blender
One of the more recent additions to the publican's back-bar has been that kitchen essential, the blender.
With warmer weather already here, pubs can take advantage of a surge in the popularity of cocktails, smoothies and milkshakes - and a blender can help you extend your range. But which blender to choose?
"There are numerous models on the market and while it may be tempting to go for the cheapest we recommend looking for value for money instead," says Ian Parsons, business development manager for Kenwood Catering.
His advice is to find a robust machine which is high performance, easy to clean, and - most importantly - has been designed specifically for use in busy bars.
"Publicans need to know that the machine they choose is up to the job," he explains. "It needs to be a long lasting investment, durable and able to withstand rigorous use in a fast turnaround commercial environment.
"Publicans should look to a brand name that they can trust, and a machine which comes with guarantees and customer support from a team that knows how your business works."
Kenwood's own stainless steel Bar Blender was created with all this in mind and trialled in busy back-bar settings. It has a 1.5 litre graduated stainless steel jug with a pouring cap that enables you to add ingredients while it's in use, saving time.
It is recommended for blending everything from creamy cocktails and fresh fruit smoothies to milkshakes and iced coffees and it can frappé up ice in seconds.
Safety and ease of use are other important factors to consider and the Kenwood machine claims to be one of the first on the market to include a safety interlock. Operation is also very simple so a minimum of training is required.
Customers have access to a customer helpline in the event of faults or breakages and an engineer will be sent within 48 hours if it isn't possible to sort the problem over the phone.
Publicans unable to function without it while waiting will be provided with a free on-loan replacement by next day. Spindle Drinks Mixers, in both a single and double version, and the Citrus Juicer are also available in the Kenwood back-bar range.
Don't lose your cool
One other consideration when choosing back-bar refrigeration equipment is the environment and manufacturer Lec has added a new range of high performance, environmentally friendly back-bar bottle coolers to its portfolio.
It features blown foam insulation which is not only more energy efficient - claiming a 40 per cent saving against competitor models - but operates in an ambient temperature of up to 38 degrees C.
According to Lec, the foam and refrigerant used not only perform better than harmful CFCs, but give the system "a zero ozone depletion potential".
Standard features include locking glass doors, a painted metal interior for better bottle illumination, automatic defrost, adjustable shelv
