Belly up to the bar and figure out ways to make it more esthetically pleasing

Nation's Restaurant News, May 28, 2001 by Foster Frable Jr.

In foodservice operations with liquor service, the bar generates the highest revenue and profit of all areas. Yet too often the bar design is taken for granted or even treated as an after-thought. Few restaurant architects or interior designers have a passion for the nuts and bolts of bar operation. Designs rarely go beyond the "look" or image of the bar. This article and the two that are to follow it will focus on the ways to achieve a bar design that is visually pleasing, easy to manage and efficient to work in.

Typical bar problems and recurrent design errors related to overall bar design and planning include:

* Designs that fail to meet industry-standard dimensions. With all of the press reports on work-related injuries resulting from poor work-station design, it's amazing to see how many bard signs sacrifice good ergonomics for aesthetics. Industry-standard dimensions for ideal front and back bar height and width, underbar equipment clearance, aisles and so on were defined about 50 years ago. Whenever those standards are ignored in the interest of creative interior design, both the bartender's back and efficiency suffer.

* Trendy metal and glass or stone bar tops that seem cold and uninviting to patrons. Studies have proved customers like and are drawn to bar tops made of materials that evince an atmosphere of warmth. That usually means a wooden top, often cherry or mahogany. Customers like bars that evoke a comfortable feeling, like rounded rather than sharp corners and edges. Why risk alienating bar patrons by substituting traditional finishes and configurations with harsh or edgy designs intended only for visual impact?

* Scuppers -- drink rails -- that are hard to clean and may corrode. All bars should have scuppers, but materials like brass and wood quickly deteriorate. Stainless steel or stone scuppers last much longer. Always try to provide a drain with a flexible hose on each end for easy cleaning.

* POS stations that are too remote from the bartender's work station or are located on the back bar, forcing the bartender to turn away from the customer. Some operators try to lower costs by installing one POS to be shared by both servers and bartenders. The most efficient POS station for the bartender is one that is built into a drop shelf in the front bar near the mix station.

* Server pickup stations that are an afterthought. The design of the server pickup counter must have a smooth flow and adequate storage for all of the amenities and support equipment. Most designers provide a curved rail on the bar top to define the pickup area and a shelf for the POS register and then consider the job complete. A good pickup station needs a landing area for trays, an organized area for bar condiments and service items, a trash can and storage for paper supplies, printer rolls and so on. Bar snacks also take up a lot of storage space. If a light food menu is served at the bar, you will need space for silver, napkins and condiments. Consider provisions for coffee, ice tea and bottled water and an undercounter refrigerator for cream, fruits and other perishables.

* No designated area for soiled glassware. If bar glasses are returned to the bar for washing, an area or pass-through should be a designated space for soiled glassware, along with a container for bottles. An ideal arrangement is to have a pass-through glass washer built into one side of the server station so that clean glasses can be removed on the bartender side. If servers add ice and soda to the glasses, you need a pass-through ice chest, a soda gun and plenty of glassware storage on the server side.

* Congested service areas. When one considers all of the functions that can occur in a larger bar, with two or more servers picking up, the service area can grow to almost the size of the bar itself. The flow of the servers through the various functions, such as picking up, ordering, assembling a tray, all must occur in a flow pattern that eliminates cross traffic and congestion. When carefully planned and integrated with the bar design, the service stations can become invisible to the guest. When ignored by the designer, they will evolve by themselves to become a hodgepodge of mismatched cabinetry, draped tables and back-of-the house shelving.

Remember: The service station is the busiest and most profitable station in the bar. The restaurant has more seats than the bar has stools. When you are planning a new or renovated facility with a bar, encourage your designers to balance appearance and image with the functional needs of the bar staff and servers. The rewards can be substantial.

My next article will focus on providing the most efficient layout and equipment for the bartender.