The Ultimate Guide to Bar Supplies and Accessories for Commercial Bars and Restaurants

Running a successful bar or restaurant requires the right equipment to serve quality drinks efficiently and ensure a smooth operation. From the perfect glassware to specialized bar tools, every aspect of your setup plays a crucial role in the customer experience. At KAF Supplies, we offer a wide range of bar supplies and accessories that are essential for maintaining a high standard of service in commercial bars and restaurants. In this guide, we’ll explore each category of bar supplies in detail to help you build or upgrade your commercial bar.

Glassware: The Right Glass for Every Drink

Glassware is not just about aesthetics; it plays a vital role in the drinking experience. The right glass enhances the aroma, flavor, and presentation of your beverages. KAF Supplies offers a comprehensive selection of glassware tailored for bars and restaurants. From wine glasses to beer mugs, each type of glass is designed to cater to a specific drink, elevating the overall experience for your customers.

Types of Glassware You’ll Need:

Wine Glasses: For wine, choosing the right glass can make all the difference. Our selection of red, white, and sparkling wine glasses offers a variety of shapes and sizes to help bring out the best in any wine. The bowl size and shape can influence the aroma, making it essential to have a glass that complements the wine being served.
Cocktail Glasses: For cocktails, the classic martini glass or coupe can add elegance to your presentation. These glasses are essential for serving various cocktails such as martinis, cosmopolitans, or margaritas.
Beer Glasses: Beer glasses are specifically designed to enhance the drinking experience of various beer types. Whether it’s a pint glass, stein, or pilsner glass, choosing the right beer glass ensures the perfect presentation and serving of your beer selection.
Plastic Bar Glasses: For outdoor patios, poolside bars, or high-traffic environments, plastic bar glasses provide a durable and shatterproof alternative. These are available in various styles and are perfect for serving beers, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages without compromising on style or safety.

Why Invest in Quality Glassware?

Using high-quality glassware will not only improve your drink presentation but also enhance the perception of your brand. Glassware can also be an excellent way to differentiate your establishment and create a signature style.

Explore our full collection of Glassware for all your bar needs.

Bar Refrigeration: Keep Your Beverages Cool

When it comes to serving cold drinks, efficient refrigeration is essential. Bar refrigeration equipment ensures that your drinks, ingredients, and storage areas remain at the right temperature, allowing you to serve chilled beverages to customers.

Types of Bar Refrigeration Equipment:

Back Bar Cabinet/Refrigerated: Back bar cabinets are designed to store pre-chilled beverages and ingredients behind the bar for easy access. These units are essential for bars with high-volume drink orders, providing quick access to cold items like bottled beer, sodas, and mixers. The refrigerated design ensures that ingredients remain fresh and chilled throughout the service.
Draft Beer Cooler: For establishments that serve beer on tap, a draft beer cooler is crucial. These coolers are designed to keep kegs at the optimal temperature, ensuring that your beer is served cold and fresh every time. At KAF Supplies, we offer a range of draft beer coolers that can accommodate various keg sizes and volumes.
Equipment Stand, Refrigerated Base: A refrigerated base stand is perfect for storing ingredients like garnishes and pre-mixed drinks. This piece of equipment allows bartenders to have everything they need at arm’s reach while maintaining proper refrigeration.
Refrigerated Work Top: This versatile piece of equipment provides both a countertop for preparation and a refrigerated area to store ingredients, such as garnishes, fruits, and pre-chilled bottles. A refrigerated worktop keeps ingredients fresh and accessible, speeding up service times.
WorkTop Freezer: A worktop freezer offers additional frozen storage space while also providing a convenient surface for preparation. It’s ideal for bars that need extra storage for frozen ingredients, like ice cream, or frozen fruit for cocktails.

Having reliable refrigeration ensures that you serve your beverages at the perfect temperature and that your ingredients remain fresh. KAF Supplies offers a variety of refrigeration options to meet the needs of any commercial bar or restaurant.

Explore our full collection of Bar Refrigeration for all your cooling solutions.

Bar Accessories: Enhance Efficiency and Style Behind the Bar

Bar accessories are essential tools that help bartenders work quickly, efficiently, and stylishly. They streamline the bartending process, ensuring that drinks are served consistently, safely, and with a touch of finesse. These accessories range from basic tools like bottle openers to more advanced items like specialized cocktail dispensers, all of which contribute to a smooth bar operation.

Key Bar Accessories You Should Have:

Bottle Openers: A must-have for any bar, bottle openers are used to quickly and easily open bottles of beer, soda, and other beverages. Whether you prefer a manual lever opener or a classic corkscrew for wine, the right bottle opener ensures no downtime between orders.
Pourers: Liquor pourers allow bartenders to pour precise amounts of liquor, minimizing waste and ensuring consistency in drinks. They are perfect for keeping a fast pace while maintaining accuracy. This essential bar accessory also helps with portion control for cocktails.
Garnish Trays: Garnishes elevate the presentation of cocktails and drinks. Garnish trays help you organize citrus slices, cherries, olives, and other garnishes for easy access. They are an ideal solution for busy bars, where every second counts.

Explore more in our Bar Accessories collection.

Bar Supplies: Essential Tools for Every Bar Setup

Bar supplies encompass a wide range of items that ensure smooth operations behind the bar. These items are specifically designed to meet the high demands of commercial environments like bars, restaurants, and event venues.

Common Bar Supplies:

Straws and Stir Sticks: While seemingly simple, straws and stir sticks are essential in both drink preparation and customer experience. Opt for reusable or biodegradable options to enhance sustainability.
Ice Scoops: A reliable ice scoop is essential for maintaining hygiene and ensuring that ice is transferred quickly and safely into drink glasses. Using the right scoop minimizes the chance of contamination and speeds up service.
Tray Holders: Having a tray holder allows bartenders to carry multiple drinks at once, optimizing the service process, especially during peak hours. Trays are available in various sizes and materials, including metal and plastic, catering to the needs of any commercial setting.
Bar Mats: These mats help with drainage and keep spills contained, offering a non-slip surface to rest bottles and glasses. Bar mats make cleaning up after service easier and maintain a clean working environment.

You can find all of these and more in our Bar Supplies collection.

Beverage Dispensers: Serve Drinks in Style and Bulk

Beverage dispensers are a must-have for high-volume bars, catering events, or restaurants that need to serve cocktails or juices in bulk. These dispensers allow you to prepare large quantities of drinks in advance, reducing the time bartenders spend mixing drinks during peak hours.

Why You Need Beverage Dispensers:

Efficiency: Beverage dispensers are designed to hold large quantities of mixed drinks, allowing bartenders to serve multiple customers quickly. This is especially beneficial for bars with large crowds or during happy hours.
Consistency: When drinks are pre-mixed and stored in a dispenser, they are consistently poured, ensuring that every cocktail tastes the same.
Style: Beverage dispensers come in elegant designs and are perfect for serving signature cocktails or large-batch beverages like sangria, margaritas, or punches.

Explore our Beverage Dispensers collection for all your large-volume serving needs.

Bottle Accessories: Essential Tools for Efficient Bottle Service

Bottle accessories are critical for ensuring that your bottles are opened, stored, and poured efficiently. These tools are designed to help bartenders work faster while maintaining the quality and integrity of the drinks served.

Types of Bottle Accessories You Need:

Bottle Stoppers: For wines, spirits, and other beverages that need to be stored after being opened, bottle stoppers are essential. They help preserve the drink’s flavor and keep it fresh for future service.
Wine Keys/Corkscrews: A wine key is a professional-grade corkscrew, perfect for quickly and easily opening wine bottles. Its design makes it easier to remove the cork without damaging the bottle or spilling wine.
Bottle Pourers: These devices are placed in the neck of liquor bottles to control the speed and accuracy of the pour. Bottle pourers are indispensable for bartenders, ensuring that each cocktail is mixed with the right amount of liquor, avoiding overpouring.

For high-quality bottle accessories, check out our Bottle Accessories collection.

Jiggers: Precision in Every Pour

A jigger is a small measuring tool that ensures consistency in every drink. Whether you're preparing a classic cocktail or experimenting with a new recipe, accurate measurements are essential for achieving the perfect balance of flavors. Jiggers come in various sizes and are usually double-sided, with different measurements on each end.

Why Jiggers are Essential for Your Bar:

Consistency: Accurate measurements ensure that each cocktail is made with the right proportions of ingredients, keeping your drinks consistent and professional.
Speed: Using a jigger allows bartenders to quickly pour the correct amount of liquor, which is particularly helpful during high-volume service times.
Cost Control: Jiggers help reduce waste, ensuring that you are using just the right amount of ingredients. This is vital for keeping your costs in check while maximizing profit.

You can find a variety of high-quality jiggers in our Jiggers collection.

Bar Spoons: The Perfect Stirring Tool

Bar spoons are long, slender utensils designed for stirring cocktails. They are perfect for mixing ingredients in tall glasses, allowing bartenders to achieve the perfect blend of flavors without over-diluting the drink with ice.

Features of a Bar Spoon:

Twisted Handle: The twisted design provides a better grip for bartenders, offering more control during stirring.
Long Reach: The long handle allows bartenders to easily stir drinks in tall or deep glasses, ensuring even mixing.
Layering Cocktails: Bar spoons can also be used for layering drinks, allowing bartenders to create visually stunning cocktails by controlling the flow of liquids.

Explore our Bar Spoons collection to enhance your bartending toolkit.

Bar Strainers: Essential for Smooth Drinks

Bar strainers are crucial for ensuring that no unwanted ingredients, such as ice or muddled fruits, end up in your cocktail glass. These strainers are used after shaking or stirring to filter out solids from the drink, providing a smooth, clean cocktail.

Types of Bar Strainers:

Hawthorne Strainer: This strainer is ideal for use with cocktail shakers. It features a spring around the edge, which helps filter out solids while keeping the drink smooth.
Fine Mesh Strainer: For cocktails that need an extra level of filtration, a fine mesh strainer is perfect. It is often used to remove very fine solids, ensuring that the drink is perfectly smooth.

Check out our Bar Strainers for a variety of high-quality options.

Cocktail Shakers: The Heart of Mixing Drinks

Cocktail shakers are essential for creating perfectly blended and chilled cocktails. Whether you prefer the classic Boston shaker or the more compact cobbler shaker, the right shaker is key to ensuring your cocktails have the perfect texture and taste.

Why Cocktail Shakers Are Essential:

Mixing and Chilling: Shakers are designed to blend and chill ingredients quickly, creating smooth and well-mixed cocktails.
Style and Presentation: Shaking a cocktail is not only functional but also adds a bit of flair to your bartending routine. With the right shaker, you can entertain guests while making great drinks.

Explore our collection of Cocktail Shakers to find the perfect tool for your bar.

Conclusion: Elevate Your Commercial Bar with KAF Supplies

Creating the perfect bar environment requires the right mix of quality equipment and accessories. From glassware to refrigeration, each element plays a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and efficient operation. KAF Supplies offers a wide selection of bar supplies and accessories that are tailored to meet the needs of commercial bars and restaurants.

Investing in high-quality equipment will not only enhance your customer experience but also improve your operational efficiency, ultimately contributing to the success of your business. Whether you're starting a new bar or upgrading your current setup, explore our comprehensive collections of Glassware, Bar Refrigeration, Bar Accessories, and Bottle Service Accessories to find everything you need for your commercial bar.

Start upgrading your bar today with KAF Supplies and experience the difference in quality and service.