Convenience stores, Mexican restaurants, resorts and many more operations offer frozen beverages. Whether your frozen beverage maker/dispenser produces slushies for kids or margaritas for grown-ups, you can take several steps to keep them running smoothly.

A wider availability of low- and no-alcohol beverages has driven menu mentions and interest among consumers.

Well-designed self-serve beverage stations can reduce labor and enhance the customer experience.

For many restaurant guests, enjoying a glass of wine or even sharing a bottle with their dining companions is all part of the experience. Realizing this, many restaurant operators spend significant time and thought developing wine lists that match their menus. Equally important, though, is developing the infrastructure that supports such a program, including glassware, storage and more.

Whether they’re behind the counter or in the dining room, soda dispensers are a staple of the modern restaurant. With the amount of use a machine gets every day, keeping these units clean and operational is absolutely essential.

In foodservice, there has been much focus on beverage offerings in recent years, which has resulted in a proliferation of innovative concoctions, unique flavor profiles, and a focus on healthful and functional ingredients.

The number of frozen beverage dispensers an operation requires depends on the number of drinks it will need to produce per hour. This typically ranges from 30 to 200, although most units can produce between 80 and 120 frozen beverages per hour.

Before selecting beer and wine dispensing systems, learn about the different types and how they operate to ensure the best fit for the operation. Cost considerations and maintenance requirements also should be factored in.

Blenders typically have a service life ranging from 10 to 15 years for heavy-duty models. When these units stop working, it is generally time for a new one. Proper maintenance not only helps to provide a more consistent blend, but it also prolongs the blender’s service life.

Start by assessing how the operation will use the blender. This will help determine the necessary speed and how the blender will fit within the workstation.

Commercial blenders are versatile, performing the functions of food processors, mixers and even nut grinders while occupying little space. This powerful equipment handles food prep or concocts blended beverages. Multipurpose models can create soups, purees, salad dressings, sauces and foams, among other items.

With proper maintenance and service, frozen beverage dispensers can anticipate an average service life of 8 to 10 years.

With more restaurant and bar operators expanding their offerings due to the large profit margin frozen beverages can generate, the dispenser category for smoothies, slushies and other similar beverages becomes a point of emphasis.

The maintenance and cleaning procedures for draft beer and wine systems are the same.

Beer and wine systems not only provide added convenience and increased efficiency when serving these beverages but they can also ensure consistency in every pour.

Coffee brewers provide an essential beverage service to foodservice operations. These machines heat water to between 195 degrees F and 202 degrees F. Although operators can use the hot water to steep tea, true connoisseurs of this beverage may consider the maximum water temperature too low. Brewers also have water faucets to supply hot water for different applications, such as producing oatmeal, soup and hot chocolate.

Draft beer systems represent a key item in many restaurants and bars and their popularity only grew in recent years due to the craft beer boom. That said, in the event a restaurant or bar plans to temporarily close to ride out the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, operator would be wise to properly shut down their draft beer systems.

Bars are a known revenue generator and might take less effort to staff but rarely get the necessary attention in a restaurant’s design phase.

Harry Walden joined ColdZone as senior applications engineer to support manufacturing, sales, and customer technical support for the California maker of commercial refrigeration systems.

Standex Refrigerated Solutions Group (RSG) will sell its Master-Bilt and Nor-Lake refrigeration businesses to Ten Oaks Group, a family office focused exclusively on corporate divestitures. The closing is expected to occur in the next 45 days, per a Standex release announcing the deal.

When choosing beer and wine dispensing systems, it helps to be educated on how the different types operate, cost considerations and maintenance requirements.

Self- and full-service cold carbonated beverage dispensers provide soft drinks and carbonated flavored water.

Draft beer requires dispensing equipment that efficiently supplies the product to the point of service. The dispensing equipment works in conjunction with refrigeration equipment that keeps beverage temperatures at the optimum 36 degrees F during storage and between 38 degrees F and 40 degrees F while serving.

Operators installing new coffee machines have to take into consideration water conditions. Treat water for taste, odor and mineral deposits with proper filtration. Regularly change water filters to prevent buildup. Also, check brew levels to determine whether there is scale on the brew tank since it will reduce the amount of water inside.

Coffee brewers are generally categorized by brew volume or the vessel into which the beverage is brewed. For example, decanter types brew into glass decanters, thermal coffee brewers brew into large servers, and satellite or shuttle brewers brew into non-thermally insulated servers.

Cafes are less likely to use single-cup capsule brewers, which provide between 6 and 20 ounces of coffee at a time in 30 to 50 seconds, since these operators typically use shuttle brewing systems, which brew into 1.5-gallon containers or shuttles. A standard twin shuttle brewer can produce approximately 10 shuttles per hour, or approximately 160 12-ounce cups per hour. With optional heating elements, productivity boosts up to 20 shuttles per hour or 320 12-ounce cups per hour.

Coffee brewers are generally categorized by brew volume or the vessel into which the beverage is brewed. For example, decanter types brew into glass decanters, thermal coffee brewers brew into large servers, and satellite or shuttle brewers brew into non-thermally insulated servers.

Regularly wipe down external machine surfaces, floor and wall surfaces.“The more typical style of undercounter dishmachine is very similar to a residential unit,” says Tom McBride, technician for General Parts in Houston. “For a bar footprint where space may be limited for both equipment and personnel, this style presents some challenges.”

Operators should consider the location of the unit. “Will it be under an ADA section of the bar?” asks Emalee Austerman, project coordinator at Camacho Associates, Atlanta. “If so, bar operators will need to make sure it will fit under the counter. Will it be in view of the customer or near customer seating? In this case, they will probably want a low-temp option with a slow start-up to avoid excess steam and noise.”

Components of these units include removable upper and lower rinse arms, pump drains, detergent pumps, built-in temperature boosters for high-temp warewashers and sanitizing pumps on low-temp machines. Insulated doors, low-chemical alerts and delime alarms typically come standard. Some warewashers have digital controls on top that display water temperature and cycle information, while others can automatically extend the rinse cycle to ensure water reaches 180 degrees F.