Buying Guide for Restaurant Sinks, Faucets, and Plumbing

A properly outfitted restaurant will likely have several different sinks that serve a variety of purposes - not only in the back of the building, but also behind the bar and at the server's stations. It is vital to the proper management and functionality of your restaurant that you have the right type of sinks, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures in the appropriate places to streamline the work that goes on behind the scenes, whether it be washing pots and pans or hand washing your glassware. Having the right type of plumbing installed and in use is also an important part of the food safety considerations that your restaurant must take, and is an area of concern among health inspectors (who can make or break your restaurant business).

Buying Guide: Sinks for Your Restaurant
The most basic part of any restaurant (other than the stove and oven) is the sinks. The following are the most commonly sought after sinks in the best restaurants around the world.

Hand Sinks - also known as hand washing stations. By having one or several of these scattered throughout your kitchen, you provide your employees with a sink that is dedicated solely to their personal hygiene while working.

Bar Sinks - designed for washing glasses behind the bar, these are one of the most useful sinks in the restaurant, especially during busy periods when it is not pertinent to run to the kitchen for fresh glasses. Bar sinks range from one compartment to three compartments, depending on your space requirements and needs.

Kitchen Sinks - available in as many as four compartments for washing and rinsing the many dishes, pots, pans, and other items you use each day. HACCP requires that your restaurant have at least one three compartment sink in order to properly sanitize your dishes. For larger cookware, you might also consider a bigger compartment sink that is dedicated to just large stock pots and other oversized kitchen cookware.

Buying Guide: Faucets for Your Restaurant
There are various different faucets that can be both useful and attractive in your restaurant. Let's look at the most commonly installed faucets that you should consider:

• Deck-mounted faucet - this type of faucet mounts directly onto the sink and provides functionality and simplicity.
• Wall-mounted faucets - mounts on the wall and comes through the sink's backsplash. This is the most commonly installed restaurant sink and makes effective use of space.
• Pot filler faucet - this type of wall mounted faucets features a hose or extension spout that is designed to allow you to fill even the biggest pots with ease.
• Pre-rinse faucet - this type of faucet assembly allows you to speedily rinse cookware, tableware, glassware, flatware, and more before placing the items into the dishwasher.

Buying Guide: Food Disposers for Your Restaurant
As good as the food you serve is, you're always bound to need a way to deal with food waste and kitchen scraps. A garbage disposer is the ideal way to get rid of the food scraps that normally make their way into your trash, making for a cleaner method of disposal. Having a disposer makes your kitchen run more smoothly and is good for the environment because decomposing food scraps can emit gases during decomposition that help to increase the greenhouse effect, which is responsible for global warming. A food disposer also keeps your kitchen trash cans and outside dumpster from the common smells associated with disposing of food in the trash.