Hi everyone,
This is my first post! I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts and I love how generous everyone is with their advice. Hopefully I can be like that too on this forum...once I have some knowledge to offer!
We are about to open a bar/ restaurant in Melbourne. Obviously we need a coffee machine but we are unsure of volume at this stage which makes deals with coffee suppliers difficult/ impossible. We will be open mostly nights and weekends all day from 10 with coffee and special items (these are a secret), but won't be serving breakfast in the beginning. We plan to expand the hours to weekend breakfast in the first few months, but it's baby steps to begin with. After that, possibly breakfast weekdays if we get a foothold on weekends.
Coffee isn't going to be our main focus in terms of revenue streams for the first few months, but we'd like to have the option in the near future. It's a bet each way, I know!
We have a budget of between $1000-3000 including a grinder. Second hand is the plan as long as service history is good. We'd prefer a good, reliable brand and model - of course! Ideally it will look good on the end of the bar too, but we can compromise on this as the rest of the fit out is hand built and beautiful (I'm biased, I know...) and the machine won't be the main focus aesthetically. Most people i've spoken to have recommended a 2 group for what we want, but we don't have a preference between 2 or 3 group. The glass half full person in me says 3 group for future growth, the realist says that 2 will be fine for the short-medium term - and if things are going well we can upgrade.
So, what i'd like to know is this: (keeping in mind that we will be buying used, not new)
1. What brands and models are recommended with good reputations?
2. Which brands have good service and parts available?
3. How long do machines last, as in will a machine that is 15 years old perform like one that is 3 years old - assuming good servicing etc.?
Thanks in advance!
Cal
This is my first post! I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts and I love how generous everyone is with their advice. Hopefully I can be like that too on this forum...once I have some knowledge to offer!
We are about to open a bar/ restaurant in Melbourne. Obviously we need a coffee machine but we are unsure of volume at this stage which makes deals with coffee suppliers difficult/ impossible. We will be open mostly nights and weekends all day from 10 with coffee and special items (these are a secret), but won't be serving breakfast in the beginning. We plan to expand the hours to weekend breakfast in the first few months, but it's baby steps to begin with. After that, possibly breakfast weekdays if we get a foothold on weekends.
Coffee isn't going to be our main focus in terms of revenue streams for the first few months, but we'd like to have the option in the near future. It's a bet each way, I know!
We have a budget of between $1000-3000 including a grinder. Second hand is the plan as long as service history is good. We'd prefer a good, reliable brand and model - of course! Ideally it will look good on the end of the bar too, but we can compromise on this as the rest of the fit out is hand built and beautiful (I'm biased, I know...) and the machine won't be the main focus aesthetically. Most people i've spoken to have recommended a 2 group for what we want, but we don't have a preference between 2 or 3 group. The glass half full person in me says 3 group for future growth, the realist says that 2 will be fine for the short-medium term - and if things are going well we can upgrade.
So, what i'd like to know is this: (keeping in mind that we will be buying used, not new)
1. What brands and models are recommended with good reputations?
2. Which brands have good service and parts available?
3. How long do machines last, as in will a machine that is 15 years old perform like one that is 3 years old - assuming good servicing etc.?
Thanks in advance!
Cal

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