Avoiding Glassware Shock

The glassware in any restaurant or bar gets used quite a bit. If proper precautions are not used when handling glassware, then glassware can be a big expense for many restaurants and bars. According to Libbey® the most common causes of damage to glassware include thermal shock and mechanical shock.

Thermal shock is the result of glass experiencing a sudden temperature change. Glass holds temperature, and a rapid change in temperature can cause enough stress to result in breakage. For example, a glass that has held ice cannot go directly into the dishwasher; a glass war from the dishwasher should not go directly into service; and cold water or ice should not be put into a warm or hot glass or cup. In all cases, the glass needs to reach room temperature before being taken to the other extreme, and the thicker or heavier the item, the more time is needed. Cracks that result from thermal shock usually form around abrasions caused by mechanical impact, increasing the chances of breakage.

Mechanical shock in glassware is the direct result of contact with another object, such as a spoon, a beer tap, another glass, or a piece of china. This kind of contact can cause a minute abrasion, invisible to the eye, but a source of weakness in the glass, making it more susceptible to bre

Tips on Glassware Handling

One of the most important merchandising tools used by restaurants and bars is glassware. Glassware needs to be properly handled and maintained at all times. Proper handling will ensure less breakage and damage, resulting in higher productivity and lower incidences of injury accidents.

Below are some general guidelines from Libbey® on how to properly handle glassware:

• Keep adequate supplies of glassware in order to prevent recently washed items from going directly into service.
• Place guides on scrap tables for bussing staff to place glass, china, and flatware in separate areas.
• Check dishwasher temperature twice daily.
• Replace worn glass washer brushes.
• Instruct bussing staff to BE QUIET. No one wants to eat in a noisy place. This will cut down on breakage of glassware, as well as help create a pleasant, quiet atmosphere.
• Never put cold water or ice into a warm or hot glass.
• Bus glassware directly into racks, or use divided bus trays with flatware baskets.
• Color code racks for different glass, china, and flatware items.
• Remove severely abraded glass from service.

Do You Have Enough Table Service?

Knowing how much restaurant glassware, bar glassware, china dinnerware and restaurant flatware to have on hand can be challenging. Fortunately Libbey Inc. has created a series of table service guides to help you estimate your needs.

Check out the links below to make sure you have enough table service for your restaurant or bar:

Libbey’s Bar Glassware Guide – http://www.libbey.com/content/view/101/181/

Libbey’s Restaurant Glassware Guide - http://www.libbey.com/content/view/102/182/

Libbey’s China Dinnerware Guide - http://www.libbey.com/content/view/103/184/

Libbey’s Flatware Guide - http://www.libbey.com/content/view/104/185/

Proper Handling of Glassware

Proper restaurant glassware handling can reduce breakage and damage. There are two primary types of damage to restaurant glassware – thermal shock and mechanical shock.

Thermal shock occurs when restaurant glassware experiences a sudden, drastic temperature change. Glass is known for holding temperature, and a rapid change in temperature can cause enough stress to result in breakage.

Mechanical shock in restaurant glassware occurs when a glass comes into contact with another object such as a spoon, a beer tap, another glass or a piece of china. This kind of contact can cause minuscule abrasions to your restaurant glassware, invisible to the eye, but over time these abrasions can cause permanent weakness to your restaurant glassware.

Below are some tips for extending the life of your restaurant glassware:

• Never pick up restaurant glassware in bouquets.
• Always use an ice scoop with your restaurant glassware. Never scoop ice with the glass itself.
• Never stack restaurant glassware.
• Before pouring a hot beverage into a glass, preheat the glass with hot water.
• Never let restaurant glassware come into contact with a beer tap.
• Always have an adequate back-up supply of restaurant glassware for rush periods.
• Avoid glass-to-glass contact, especially while stored in overhead glass racks.
• Always handle restaurant glassware gently.
• Be sure to inspect restaurant glassware often for abrasions, cracks and chips.
• Never put flatware into restaurant glassware.
• Never overload bus trays with restaurant glassware.
• Always remove each piece of restaurant glassware from bus trays one at a time.
• Always use correct dish racks for each type of restaurant glassware.

Do You Know Your Plastics?

There are three main types of plastic commonly used in the food service industry: polycarbonate, polypropylene and polyethylene. Do you know the difference between each type? It can be confusing to remember the properties of each, so read on to learn more about the differences of each.

Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate is best identified by its crystal clear composition. It is virtually unbreakable, making this durable plastic ideal for glassware and dinnerware used in outdoor applications. Polycarbonate is also chemical and stain-resistant, making it very easy to clean and maintain. The one downside to polycarbonate is that it can be susceptible to steam and very high temperatures (safe temperature range: -40 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit).

Polypropylene
Polypropylene can be identified for its translucent composition. Some of the major advantages of polypropylene are that it is chemical-resistant (making it safe for chemical wash dishwashers); it is flexible and is typically slightly cheaper that other types of plastic. The major disadvantage of polypropylene is that it does not withstand high heat, and may not be safe for high heat dishwashers (safe temperature range: -40 – 160 degrees Fahrenheit).  

Polyethylene
Polyethylene can be identified for its white-colored composition. Polyethylene is both chemical and stain-resistant, making it safe for chemical dishwashers. Its largest disadvantage is that, much like polypropylene, it does not withstand high heat and may not be safe for high heat dishwashers (safe temperature range: -40 – 160 degrees Fahrenheit). Also, its white color does not allow you to see through the material, so when food is stored in polyethylene containers the container must be opened to view its contents.  

Looking Beyond the Beer Mug

You are probably already aware that specialty, craft beers are increasing in popularity in bars all across the country. These beers are often seen being served in an assorted variety of pilsner glasses, pint glasses, footed glassware, mugs and steins and snifters. However, do you know that the style of glassware in which the beer is served offers more than just an aesthetically pleasing beverage?

According to CraftBeer.com the glass in which a beer is served helps to enhance the beer’s flavor, aroma and head. How do you know which type of beer to serve in which glass? Easy, just use CraftBeer.com’s online beer glassware guide. The interactive tool allows you to click on a style of glassware, and then offers suggested types of beers that will benefit from that particular style of glass.

Once you have figured out which types of glassware are best suited to your bar’s beer offerings, click on over to Serv-U’s glassware section to purchase the glassware you need at the most competitive price.

Bar Equipment Storage Solutions – Glass Racks

Bar equipment that helps to organize and provide storage is key to the efficiency of your bar and bar employees. Glass racks are a great piece of bar equipment because they allow you to safely access and store your glassware.

Glass racks, like most bar equipment items, are available in many different shapes and sizes. Most glass racks are designed to be suspended from the ceiling or mounted to some type of overhead structure in your bar. With glass racks available in brass, chrome and black finishes you can be certain to find a glass rack that will easily coordinate with your existing bar equipment and bar décor.

Glass racks are typically thought of to store stemmed glassware, however Serv-U also sells backbar glass racks that will accommodate your non-stemmed glassware as well. These backbar glass racks feature removable, sliding glass racks that provide easy access to pilsner glasses, hi-ball glasses, rocks glasses and bar tumblers.

Whether it’s a Christmas stout, celebration ale or holiday lager, now is the season customers seek out frothy glasses of seasonal beer. When your customers want to drink and be merry, it’s important to note that serving up beer in the proper glassware just makes it taste better.  Serv-U carries a variety of barware, each suited to cover certain varieties of beer. Browse this guide, before ordering you bar supplies to ensure that the beer you serve gets an optimum presentation.

Goblets are ideal for big sips and best suited to Belgian IPAs and strong dark ales. These glasses maintain head beautifully and those with bottom etching provide a constant stream of bubbles and make an excellent addition to your bar supply.

Flute glasses are not limited to champagne. The long and narrow body is perfect for showcasing a lively carbonation or a beautiful color. The shape also gives the drinker a strong, aromatic front. Flute glasses are the bar supplies best suited to fruit beers. 

Mugs are known for their “clink-ability.” Because the glassware is heavy and the handle is reliable, this large-volume design is a fun shape. Mugs are perfect for American and English ales and stouts.

Mixing glasses, often referred to as “pint glasses” are popular for their easy gripping and stacking. The thick base and sloping sides also make the glasses durable. Mixing glasses are useful when serving porters and lagers from the bar.

Pilsner glasses are easily identified as the bar glassware used for light beers, but are best suited to their namesake, the pilsner. These glasses showcase color, quality and carbonation. The pilsner is a fluted trumpet shape, easily confused with nonic glasses or bulge pilsners, which have a slight hourglass shape. Nonic glasses are ideal for wheat beers, as they improve aeration.

So far in this eight part series on revamping the décor of your restaurant we’ve covered everything that goes on the table like linens, glassware, china, and flatware. So the next logical topic to cover is… you guessed it; the dining table.

Before we can talk specifics about table selection it is important to know what type of seating requirements are going to be needed for the dining area. There are several factors that have an influence on dining requirements, some that are controllable and some that are not.

One of the areas outside of management’s control is the influence of the economy and the changes in behavior it causes within patrons. Ask any restaurant owner how the economy has affected their business and I’m sure they’ll say the same basic thing; people are not dining out as much as they used to and are entertaining guests at home rather than going out for dinner. However, in recent months there as been a growing trend toward dining out in large parties for special occasions like a birthday or anniversary. This trend requires restaurants to be able to accommodate larger parties more frequently than they may have in the past and part of that accommodation is having the ability to arrange for a large enough table.

An example of an influence that is completely within the control of the restaurant is the menu selection. What does the menu have to do with seating you ask? Different types of menus require different types of table space. Take for example an ethnic menu that requires the use of several large platters along with a plate for each diner, a regular table for two might not be big enough and make the diner feel crowded and uncomfortable while dining. To ensure that the diner has a pleasant experience a larger table than normal is in order.

Now that we’ve covered some of the influences that need to be considered let’s look at some of the solutions. For restaurants that frequently have large parties it is somewhat impractical to rearrange the dining area by pushing together several table tops. Enter the drop leaf table, with the ability to be reconfigured for additional dinners. This table makes perfect sense for restaurants with the space and need for them. Throw a linen table cloth over the top and you’ve got a beautiful dining area that is a combination of form and function.

However, maybe pushing tables together for larger parties works for the dinning area in question; then perhaps a laminated tabletop with a wood edge should be considered. This type of table offers many benefits to the restaurant owner because it is easy to clean and durable to wear.

Finally, one simply can not talk about table tops without talking about the solid wood table top. With a natural finish and availability in many different sizes, this beauty works great in a range of applications from a contemporary setting to a steak house. Featuring an inch and a half thick ash wood construction, these tables are finished in a catalyzed commercial grade medium gloss sealant for a final product that can hold up to the wear and tear of a busy restaurant.

If you have questions regarding the different table options available here at Serv-U, feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat and one of our customer support staff will be happy to answer all of your questions.

Next time we’re going to move on and start talking about chairs, so be sure to check back for the seventh installment of our series on revamping the décor of your restaurant.

In our last blog we talked about specialty glassware and its benefits. Now let’s take a peek at the top shelf and see what we can do there. So what is it that a customer expects when ordering top shelf liquor? I can tell you for sure that it isn’t a Dixie cup.  

Your choice in glassware can add that final touch to your bar drinks that increase a customer’s enjoyment and keep them coming back for more. For instance, when choosing glassware for beer you’ll want to decide if you would like an increased perceived value in a mug where there appears to be a larger amount of beer due to the way the base is shaped, or would you rather have an hourglass pilsner that allows for a larger head. Restaurant guru tip: always make sure you account for the head when choosing glass size.

When it comes to wine glasses there is not only the visual appeal of the glass to consider but also what type of rim is on the glass. Talk to any wine connoisseur about the importance of the rim on a wine glass and you’ll most likely end up in a conversation about the advantages of a sheered rim glass. A sheered rim won’t make a bad wine taste like top end, but it will make a quality wine taste even better. The sheered rim allows the customer to taste the wine more than they taste the glass and it also directs the wine in a more precise manner toward the correct area of the tongue. Another benefit of a sheered rim is by increasing the amount of oxygen one draws into the mouth, volatilizing the wine and directing the flavor up into the nasal cavity for increased taste perception.

So now that we’ve covered specialty glassware and top quality glassware, let’s talk about storage of your newly expanded glassware selection. You could store them under the bar but that is really counterproductive to what we’ve been trying to accomplish. Perhaps it is time to invest in an over head glass rack so your glasses can still be generating customer interest and conversation even if they aren’t currently in use. Has anyone been to a pub which has a yard glass hanging on the wall behind the bar? How many ales do you think the bar is really selling in that yard glass; probably not many, but I will say for sure that somebody asks about the glass at least once a night.

You can find all of your glassware needs here at Serv-U. If you have questions regarding glass size for your beer or if sheered glasses are right for you, feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat and one of our customer support staff will be happy to answer all of your questions.

Be sure to check back for part three of eight in our easy ways to refresh the look of your restaurant series where we’ll be discussing dinnerware.