The population used to not know that they needed or wanted ice to cool their beverages, keep things cold, or refresh their senses in the heat of summer. However, in the 1800's the vision of one man, Frederic Tudor, who would eventually be known as the Ice King, changed all of that. These days, every restaurant across the planet has a snazzy ice machine in place to ensure patrons can have a cold glass of whatever they want from the menu.
For the most part, ice machines can last a really long time, but ice machines are also a critical point of food safety, so sometimes, they have to be replaced. Take a look at some of the signs it is time for your restaurant to upgrade its ice machine.
Your ice machine cannot keep up with ice demands throughout the day.
Ice is a hot commodity, and it is something that will be necessary for pretty much every customer that walks into your place of business. Therefore, if you run out of ice, you are at risk of either losing customers or having customers who are quite unhappy with lukewarm drinks. If the ice machine you are currently using is not capable of keeping up with the demands of your daily business, it is a surefire sign that you do need to replace what you have with something bigger and better.
Your ice machine is hard to keep clean and sanitary.
The longer ice machines are in use, the more attention is paid to ensuring these pieces of restaurant equipment are sanitary. Newer machines are designed to be easy to keep clean, but a lot of older models are created in a way that can be cumbersome and require disassembly to clean all the parts. If your employees have a hard time cleaning your ice machine, it is probably an older model and should be upgraded.
Your ice machine is loud.
This may seem like a small problem, but if your ice machine makes a lot of racket, it can be really frustrating to deal with on a daily basis. Whether you keep the machine in the dining lobby or back in the kitchen close to a service window, the excess noise can be a big problem. Newer machines are designed to operate in a quiet manner, so upgrading, if you have an old and loud ice machine, is definitely something to consider.
Visit an equipment supplier like Louis Wohl & Sons Inc to learn more.