A Portable Bar is an Important Part of any Catering Service
While many catered events seem to be nothing but good food and a bit of stiff conversation, many people would prefer their catered event to come with a stiff drink instead. A portable bar can really help transform a catering company into being able to create parties and events that people will remember for a long time to come. Having your portable bar on wheels and able to be folded up means that the party goes wherever you want it to and it is not that difficult to move around. These portable bars don’t take up all that much space when in use and even less space while being transported. They are great for:
- Birthday parties
- Weddings
- Pool parties
- Office get-togethers
- Functions
- Graduations
Elements of a Portable Bar Explained
While you might already understand what a portable bar is intended to do, it might not be so clear what it might look like or what each individual element is meant to do. These portable bar systems are actually a lot more complex than you might expect but not so much so that they are difficult to use. There is loads of room for customization on each one of them so even the same exact model can look very different depending on what the owner has done to it. It is worth taking a look at all of the different elements of a portable bar to get a better understanding of them.
The Steel Frame of Your Portable Bar
This is one of the most important aspects as it is what holds the entire bar together. The bar is built out of industrial grade steel which means that it is very durable and can withstand all of the day to day bumps and bruises that tend to happen when many drinks are being served. The steel does make the portable bar a bit heavy, but the four wheels which are also lockable make moving it around as simple as giving it a little push.
Panels on the Portable Bar
This is going to be the first part where the appearance is really important. These acrylic panels will be featured on the front and sides of the portable bar. They are translucent which means if you decide to add any form of LED lighting that it will shine right through the panels. The panels have been designed to hide all edges of the portable maximizing the space for advertising or other designs. In total there is 48 square feet of total space at your disposal that can be used for advertising, your own personal logo or a special design for the particular event you are catering. Depending on how creative you are, this is the most highly customizable area of your portable bar and the one that will grab you the most amount of attention, especially from a distance.
Portable Bar Counter Top
Every bar needs a counter top and of course the portable bar is included. Just like the panels, the counter top will be made out of an acrylic material allowing you to place menus or anything else of visual interest underneath without having to worry about anything being spilled on it. The counter top is 65” long making it so there is a ton of space to put everything from a drink display to a tip box or anything else that you might be able to think of.
Folding Shelves on the Portable Bar
Not every event that you bring the portable bar to will be the same and your bar needs to be versatile enough to accommodate for the needs of the different types of events. That is why the folding shelves are such a great feature – because they allow you to prop them up when they are needed and fold them down when they aren’t, giving you more room to work. There is one just below the counter top that is great for storing canned beverages to make mix drinks with or for the non-alcohol drinking guests. The shelf has 20 square feet of storage space and can safely hold up to 200 pounds so there is quite a lot that you can do with it. If you flip up the bottom shelves then you can easily store two 55 gallon trash bins to keep them out of sight of the guests.
The Work Surface of the Portable Bar
No matter what type of features a portable bar comes with, none of them are important at all if the bartender isn’t capable of comfortably performing their job. The design here for the work surface makes it so everything should be within arms reach so all bartending duties should be able to be carried out efficiently. Each bar will include two (2) polyurethane cutting boards as well as two (2) polyurethane ice bins. These elements are modular meaning that you can move them around and mix and match them as you see fit. These elements can also be replaced with one another meaning that you can replace a cutting board with another ice bin or vice versa.
The Speed Rail of the Portable Bar
With all of the different drinks that people are going to be ordering from your portable bar, you need to make sure you have many choices of alcohol on hand. While this in itself is not such a big problem, finding a place to store it all that is also easily accessible to quickly make a drink with is a bit of a bigger challenge. The speed rail is a great element of the portable bar that makes excellent use of the space available. It can hold up to 18 750ml bottles which are stored directly below the work surface in a horizontal line. This is meant to optimize the work space as well as making the bottles easy to grab to be able to quickly make any drink that has just been ordered.
Other Features of a Portable Bar
While the main elements of a portable bar have already been explained there are still a whole lot of other features that are a part of a portable bar that can be utilized to make the whole experience much better for bartenders and guests alike. These features might not be big enough to be considered an “element” of each and every portable bar but they are definitely worth having as they can improve performance and customer satisfaction.
The mounting bracket for beer taps is a great example of this. With this particular portable bar there are three separate spots for beer taps placed on one single mounting bracket. This means that you can have up to three kegs of beer placed below the bar to keep the beer flowing freely and easily all throughout the event. The kegs of beer can even be kept cold down there because no one likes a glass of warm beer. The towel holder as well as the paper towel stand both offer quick and convenient solutions to accessing cleaning materials. In a bar setting there are going to be some spills that you are going to want to tend to right away. This goes doubly if the spill happens in a place where a guest can see it. By having both reusable and disposable options for wiping up messes right in front of you there should never be a reason for there to be a mess for very long.
Cup holders and knife racks are also great additions to a portable bar. They keep these important utensils in reach for when you need them but out of the way for when you don’t. While you will probably frequently be using a knife to slice up limes and other things, it can be a safety hazard if it is just left out in the open at all times. The same with glasses – if you want to grab one it is good to be able to have quick access to it but if they are spread all over the place it is very easy for one of them to break, leading to another hazard – broken glass. Proper storage and organization is imperative for everything to work smoothly.
Optional Features for a Portable Bar
All of the things that have been explained so far come pretty standard as elements and features of a portable bar system. They are all important functions to help you serve drinks practically. There are some extra options though if you want to go the extra mile to really impress your guests. While they aren’t necessary and they don’t help you to serve the drinks any better or faster, they can work wonders for the appearance of your portable bar which says a lot about your company.
Custom printed panels for your portable bar can be a great way to add a level of individualism and really set yourself apart from the others in the same industry. While you could always try to make these yourself, having them from the very beginning with the right measurements and done by a professional designer and printer can save you a lot of headaches – not to mention look a whole lot better too. It is up to you whether you want your portable bar to feature your company’s logo, a menu or any other design that you think might be attractive. There are four different areas that can feature custom panels and they are the front, the two sides as well as the counter top. A great combination would be having a menu on the counter top, your logo on the front and a really cool design on the two sides.
An LED lighting system is also a really great way to draw some extra attention towards your portable bar. You can light up the night and if you have chosen some graphics for your panels then they will do a really great job at shining through the translucent acrylic materials. The LED lighting is highly customizable and the color of the lights can be changed instantly with just the touch of a button. Each LED system will come complete with the LED lights, the remote, battery and charger.
Portable Bars Outside of the Catering Business
While of course a portable bar is most often seen in the catering business, it is slowly working its way into the everyday lives of people in other industries and even sometimes into people’s homes. Bars and restaurants looking to plan events outside of their regular business place, often on the beach, have started to make use of portable bars to really promote their brand while at the same time making a killing off of all the drinks they are selling without paying a premium to rent the space. Many homeowners have also started to realize the benefits of a portable bar. This is especially true in areas where the climate can change drastically between the winter and summer months. A portable bar can be a great choice to keep the party going all year round. Keep it in the man cave during the cold winter months and then move it out by the pool when it gets warmer out. Your house will always be the place to be.
Whatever your reasons for a portable bar might be, you definitely have a lot of great features at your disposal to utilize. A portable bar can be a great time for everyone involved, but just make sure you keep it stocked!