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Originally Posted by SmokinAussie
Thanks for the pics of the Kitchen. Size looks really good, but seems very awkwardly organised, which I am sure you will sort out. I see a few things... I hope you dont mind some advice.
1. Lots of electrical wiring and leads all over the place just looks plain dangerous to me. As you'll need a new ceiling, make sure you re-rout all the power and run it down conduits exactly positioned for where all your electrical equipment will be.
2. Get another, or a bigger fryer as you will be doing a lot of fries, onion rings, buffalo wings, and maybe even catfish and chicken. There is nothing worse than bogging down a small fryer with too much food as everything will end up greasy and your oil will be dirty.
3. That dishwasher in the corner looks like it's gonna fall apart. Maybe get it serviced or trade it in???
More pics would be awesome... Am I right in assuming that with the kitchen, it's like 2 rooms?? The back room for the washing and where the 3 door fridge unit is, and the front part with the range and the walk ins?
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Oh yeah, the ceiling in the back is the first order of business. Getting an electrician in there to wire things properly so the lights aren't just hooked up with a bunch of extension cords. I don't know how they even got away with that to be honest. But I'm putting in a drop ceiling and having properly mounted and wired lights for sure.
I'm still undecided on the fryer. It's a full size unit, but it has clearly seen better days. Like Pyle's said, they are a pain and I don't know if I want to start out with one. I know some people will probably want or expect things like french fries, but I'm hoping to get by with all the traditional BBQ sides that are prepped ahead of time and don't need to be fried or cooked to order. We'll see how long that lasts though.
The dishwasher appears to be fine. I've already run a few cycles through it and everything appears to be working fine. No leaks, no mechanical issues, etc.
And you're right, it is a very awkward setup. It is made up of two parts. 85% is in the big back room (everything with blue paint). The big fridge, walk-ins, dishwasher, sinks, ice and soda machines, etc. Then on the other side of the wall on the dining room side is the flat top, grill, and fryer under that hood. It's separated from the dining room with a half wall, which I plan on extending to the ceiling to completely separate it. I think it's designed this way because way back, even before the last restaurant that was in there, it was more of a traditional diner truck stop type place. So it had one long counter for seating that overlooked that part of the kitchen.
As awkward as it is, since this is a BBQ joint that won't have a line cooking everything to order, it shouldn't be too big of a deal. For cooking, basically the smoker will be in the back, and then in the front cooking area will be the stove/grill/fryer, and the CVAP, hot, and cold serving tables. So really, the only time to go to the back for food will be to unload something from the smoker and bringing it to the front for holding/serving.
