Ice is one of the simplest recipes ever — its preparation requires nothing more than time. But time is of the essence if you are in the restaurant business and you’ve run out of ice. Your best bet when starting any food service business is to purchase a commercial ice machine. Before you start shopping for commercial ice makers, you need to:
1. Figure out how much ice you will need each day.
2. Make sure your kitchen has plumbing in place to fill an ice machine.
3. Decide what type of ice you want to serve: cubed, shaved, round, etc.
Choose ice makers by the shape of the ice
Ice is a subjective thing. Some people love round pebble ice while others like to crunch on cubed or shaved ice. Before you purchase an ice machine, determine which shape will compliment the beverages you’ll serve
I recommend: I
ceAndWine.com and
SamsClub.com offer a variety of ice making machines that make cubed ice.
Atlanta Fixture lets you shop for commercial ice makers by the shape of ice including cubed, nugget and flaked ice.
Ice machines for shaved ice and snow cone ice
If you have a specialty snow cone shop or prefer shaved ice over cubed, you’ll want to find the right ice makers for the jobs.
I recommend: Learn the difference between shaved ice and snow cone ice and comparison shop for commercial ice machines at
ConcessionStands.com. Find out how to choose the right ice machines and shop for shaved or snow cone ice machines at
1-800-Shaved-Ice.com. Check out manufacturers
slush machines or of
snow cone machines at Business.com.
Ice makers for block ice
Some ice machine manufacturers offer block ice making machines. You might be in the market for a machine that makes ice in blocks if you use it for industrial purposes to keep products cool or if you shave ice down from a block form.
I recommend: Automatic Ice Systems manufactures commercial ice machines that form ice into blocks. If your blocks will be used for shaved ice, you can choose a machine by how many blocks a day you need at
FlavorSnow.com.
Portable ice makers
If your food service requires you to serve beverages away from your main location, for instance if you’re a caterer, you’ll want to invest in a small portable ice maker.
I recommend: Air-n-Water Inc. and
Compact Appliance offer inexpensive — about $100 to $200 — small portable ice machines for sale that make 28 to 35 pounds of ice per day.
Ice makers/dispensers
One of the main uses for an ice machine is to cool beverages. Many restaurants opt to combine the ice machine with a soda fountain.
I recommend: Central Restaurant Products offers a large selection of countertop ice dispensers from a variety of ice machine manufacturers.
Fixture King sells combination fountain drink and ice making/dispensing machines. Many of the
restaurant suppliers listed at Business.com offer ice makers/dispensers.
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