Guides & Insights

Buying guides, launch checklists, top picks, and expert tips for outfitting bars, restaurants, cafés, and hotels — written by the BarEquip.Pro team for owners and operators sourcing professional equipment.

Charbroiler, Salamander or Rotisserie: Sizing a Commercial Grill
Buying Guides

Charbroiler, Salamander or Rotisserie: Sizing a Commercial Grill

In short: a charbroiler heats from below, a salamander from above, and a rotisserie turns the food through the heat. That is not a detail...

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How a Kitchen Sizes Its Exhaust Hood Before It Fails Inspection
Buying Guides

How a Kitchen Sizes Its Exhaust Hood Before It Fails Inspection

In short: a kitchen exhaust hood is sized from the equipment underneath it, not from the floor area. Get the airflow and the overhang rig...

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Undercounter, Hood or Conveyor: Sizing a Commercial Dishwasher
Buying Guides

Undercounter, Hood or Conveyor: Sizing a Commercial Dishwasher

In short: a commercial dishwasher is sized in racks per hour at your busiest hour, not in covers per day. That one number chooses between...

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Types of Cocktail Glasses Every Bar Needs
Buying Guides

Types of Cocktail Glasses Every Bar Needs

In short: six shapes of cocktail glasses carry almost all service, and everything beyond them is a signature piece bought for a specific ...

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Commercial Kitchen Equipment: What a Full Kitchen Actually Needs
Buying Guides

Commercial Kitchen Equipment: What a Full Kitchen Actually Needs

In short: commercial kitchen equipment lists run to sixty items and most kitchens need about a dozen. Work station by station — delivery,...

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Stage Lighting, Lasers and Haze: Making a Club Floor Look Full
Buying Guides

Stage Lighting, Lasers and Haze: Making a Club Floor Look Full

In short: stage lighting is how a venue controls apparent size. Pools of light and a dark ceiling make sixty people read as a crowd; flat...

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Hotel Supplies Beyond the Bed: Bedding, Laundry, In-Room Kit
Buying Guides

Hotel Supplies Beyond the Bed: Bedding, Laundry, In-Room Kit

In short: hotel supplies divide into what the guest touches and what the operation runs on. The first is bought per key and multiplies; t...

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Commercial Refrigeration, from Undercounter to Cold Room
Buying Guides

Commercial Refrigeration, from Undercounter to Cold Room

In short: a commercial refrigerator is specified by the temperature band it has to hold and the room it has to hold it in. Chilled storag...

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Commercial Coffee Machines for Cafés: Bean-to-Cup or Traditional
Buying Guides

Commercial Coffee Machines for Cafés: Bean-to-Cup or Traditional

In short: a commercial coffee machine is chosen by drinks per hour and by who makes them. Traditional espresso needs a barista and reward...

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Knife Types Explained: Boning, Butcher, Cleaver, Fillet and Santoku
Buying Guides

Knife Types Explained: Boning, Butcher, Cleaver, Fillet and Santoku

In short: most knife types exist because one cut is hard with a chef knife. Boning follows bone, fillet follows skin, a cleaver is a wedg...

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Champagne Glasses That Keep the Bubbles Alive
Buying Guides

Champagne Glasses That Keep the Bubbles Alive

In short: champagne glasses are a trade-off between bubbles and aroma. A narrow flute holds the mousse and hides the wine; a tulip keeps ...

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Whiskey Glasses and Decanters: What Actually Changes the Pour
Buying Guides

Whiskey Glasses and Decanters: What Actually Changes the Pour

In short: shape and rim thickness are the only parts of whiskey glasses that reach the drink. Everything else is presentation — worth pay...

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How to Choose a Chef Knife for a Professional Kitchen
Buying Guides

How to Choose a Chef Knife for a Professional Kitchen

In short: a commercial chef knife is chosen by steel grade, blade length and spine thickness, in that order. A 200 mm blade in 7Cr17MoV o...

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Countertop, Undercounter or Modular: Sizing an Ice Machine for a Venue
Buying Guides

Countertop, Undercounter or Modular: Sizing an Ice Machine for a Venue

In short: size an ice machine by your busiest two hours, not your daily total. A countertop ice machine covers a coffee counter or a smal...

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Choosing a Slush Machine: Bowls, Sugar and the Cleaning Nobody Budgets For
Buying Guides

Choosing a Slush Machine: Bowls, Sugar and the Cleaning Nobody Budgets For

In short: a slush machine is a sugar problem before it is a refrigeration problem. Get the mix between roughly 12 and 16 Brix, size the b...

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Bain Marie, Chafing Dish, or Heated Display? How to Choose Hot Holding Equipment
Buying Guides

Bain Marie, Chafing Dish, or Heated Display? How to Choose Hot Holding Equipment

Bain marie, chafing dish, heated display case, or soup kettle — each holds cooked food at safe serving temperature, but each fits a diffe...

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Rainbow stripes projected across the facade and clock tower of a colonial building at night
Buying Guides

How to Choose a Gobo Projector: Power, IP Rating, Rotation, and Slides

Gobo projectors help bars and restaurants boost branding, ambiance, and promotions with light projections that are easy to install and ad...

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