5 Tips for Finding the Right Restaurant Equipment

Restaurant Equipment Reviews

When it comes to shopping for new restaurant equipment – big and large – it can be trying to find reliable reviews. For the residential counter-parts, Amazon is the go-to-resource for customer reviews that really tell the story on how you could expect a piece of equipment to work in the home kitchen, but there’s something about the restaurant industry that doesn’t lend to extra time for leaving reviews for others to learn from (I mean, everyone that works in the restaurant industry has the extra time to sit in front of a computer and write reviews, right?). With that said, here are a few tips on how you can find the answers you need when shopping for new commercial restaurant equipment.

1. Research the category first.

Start with researching the over-arching-category first. You likely know what you’re in the market for, i.e. searching for a new ‘fryer’ will yield better results than searching for ‘restaurant equipment.’ Search the web for key phrases that may help you find the information you need:

This will help you find the questions you should be asking when searching for a new piece of equipment and will help you narrow down your choice to the type of sub-category and/or products you should be further researching.

2. Start researching specific equipment models.

Just like you’d do with buying residential equipment, using the research you’ve already done, get specific brand name and model numbers of equipment you may be interested in and see if there are reviews written in various places across the web. Let’s take a Hamilton Beach CPM700. This heavy-duty mixer is similar to other popular mixer brands, but maybe you’re not as familiar with it. Before you make the investment, do some digging on what other buyers think about the mixer – take note of reviews and questions you find on other retailer sites. Search the web for these key phrases:

  • Hamilton Beach + CPM700
  • Hamilton Beach + commercial mixer

 3. Search product videos.

While you’re doing your search, make sure to switch over to ‘videos’ (in Google, it’s one of the options below the search box) and take a look at product videos that may exist. There are usually comments below the videos that could help with your research as well.

4. Ask the professionals.

Most sites have a Live Chat feature that allows you to chat instantly with a customer service rep. When you’re able to share the details behind your purchase (e.g. how you’ll be using the equipment, how often you’ll be using the equipment, etc.), they can often better match you with the equipment that’ll suite your needs. Don’t be afraid to chat.

5. Ask your peers.

Lastly, if you have time to wait for feedback, find a forum where peers are more than willing to share insight on their own experiences with different restaurant equipment and brands. You can search the internet for ‘equipment category + forum’ and typically get results for existing forums in your profession, especially when you start making the search results more granular, e.g. ‘equipment category + forum + restaurant.’

About Kasy Allen

Kasy Allen is the owner and lead marketing strategist of Annapurna Digital, a digital marketing agency. In addition to working with Tundra Restaurant Supply with their online marketing strategies, Kasy has helped many online brands find their online voice and an online marketing strategy that brings in the right users and increased revenue. When not in the office, Kasy can be found exploring the great outdoors of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

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6 comments

  1. Wonderful article! So inspiring!

    Thanks

  2. One of the main things I take from the article is the importance of doing your research. I completely agree! It’s too easy to buy the first thing you see, and is rarely the right thing to do. I think a forum is a great idea. Usually feedback comes pretty quick so it can be very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

  3. New Paltz Food Review

    I think doing research is the most important thing when it comes to picking out restaurant equipment. It’s going to be in your restaurant for a long time so you need to make sure you know what you’re getting

  4. I think that your tip about researching the category could really help you to find the best equipment for your restaurant. A lot of the time you know a lot about how to cook things with this equipment, but not so much about how different brands compare to each other. It would take a lot of experience to have that kind of experience, or less than an hour of research. I appreciate your detailed tips on how to find the best equipment for this type of thing, thank you!

  5. Asking professional chefs about the equipment they use on online chat forums seems like a good way to find all of the equipment that I would need to open up a restaurant. There’s a lot of kitchen equipment that I need to sift through. One of the things that I’m looking for is quality in the supplies that I use. I’m sure that there are plenty of other professional chefs who feel the same way, so asking about what they use will give me a better idea of brands that I should be looking at.

  6. There is a reason why research is the first thing listed. I believe that doing the proper research can save you time and money in the long run. You wouldn’t want to buy something and then later on find out you could of bought a better model at a cheaper price. Not every restaurant out there will use the same equipment, but they are similar. It doesn’t matter if it’s a refrigerator or a mixer, do a bit of research and find the right one for you.

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