Does Your Bar Need a Speed Rail?
A key consideration when it comes to designing and planning a bar is not just the space you have but what bar equipment you need and how the layout affects efficiency when bartenders need to make and serve drinks quickly at busy times.
If bar staff don’t have everything they need within arm’s reach, it means they’ll need to turn their back on customers to browse through bottle shelves or take longer to move around the bar and find the right serving equipment, all potentially leading to slow service, frustrated customers and a loss in profits.
What is a speed rail?
A speed rail or speed rack is designed to provide easy access to the spirit bottles bartenders need most often. Speed rails are bar equipment accessories that attach to the side of underbar counters, typically sitting along the length of your ice well so that spirits and liquor can be stored easily, allowing bartenders to grab what they need quickly to mix drinks. A useful consideration in any bar design, speed rails can help to improve service times for customers and provide optimal functionality and a better layout behind the bar.
How should speed rails be used in bar design?
Each bar station should have its own speed rail for maximum efficiency. There are options for single or double speed rails depending on the specific needs of your bar operations and the number of spirits your staff will need to access quickly.
You’ll also need to consider things like the height of the speed rail to ensure that it can hold your bottles safely, be easy for bar staff to grab what they need and not cause any obstructions behind the bar.
Making the most out of your speed rail
Most people dealing with operations behind the bar will be familiar with speed rails, but you might not realise how much impact they can have on serving times and customer satisfaction. Setting your speed rail up in a logical order, according to your drinks menu and the most popular offerings is also important to keep things moving as quickly as possible. Speed rails are often used to hold popular spirits such as Rum, Gin and Vodka but if you run a cocktail bar, for example, you might opt to group common ingredients together such as having Tequila and Triple Sec next to each other.
If you’re considering a change to your existing bar layout to incorporate a speed rail, or you’re just getting started with planning your bar, the team at Servaclean can help you with stunning commercial bar equipment designed to improve efficiency and maximise profits.
