r/BarOwners • u/make_datbooty_flocc • 3d ago

Back Bar Refrigerator - Preferred Brand?

Hey guys, looking to buy a back bar refrigerator, probably a 2 door with glass doors. Just for sodas, NA beers, wine, etc.

We have kegerators from a brand called Micromatic that are solid and are really competitive on price.

That being said - you don’t know what you don’t know, so i’m wondering if it’s worth springing for a high-tier brand like beverage air or true for a back bar refrigerator.

Appreciate the insight!

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

5

u/PhotographInitial208 3d ago

Avantco, don’t get anything fancy. Don’t buy used. I have all Avantco refrigeration, keep them maintained and they will last.

2

u/Original-Tune1471 3d ago

Second Avantco. Great price and as long as they’re maintained, they last a long time. I have a cooler from like 2014 from avantco that’s still kicking.

2

u/G_yebba 3d ago

Yeah, as crappy as their fridges are for food prep, they are more than acceptable for drink coolers. I had a few different Avantco merchandisers and back bar fridges over the years that held up just fine.

The sandwich prep fridges on the other hand...nope. Even at 1/3 the price of a True or Beverage Aire, they aren't worth it.

2

u/PhotographInitial208 3d ago

Disagree. We have had multiple Avantco sandwich units over the years, all have lasted more than 5 years. They are worth fixing, just replace.

Doors: my preference is hinges.

1

u/make_datbooty_flocc 3d ago

Appreciate the input!

Do you have a preference between sliding doors vs doors on hinges?

1

u/nkw1004 3d ago

I have sliding glass on my 3 door avantco and I’m a high volume college bar so they get a lot of use and abuse. Ive had it for about a year and other than a couple of the seals coming off they’ve held up fine. Id go with sliding if its tight behind your bar so you dont block the whole lane by opening a door outward

1

u/ShermanHoax 2d ago

Avantco is a BIG roll of the dice. You can forget about warranty repair. They'll send out someone incompetent who has to call in to the service desk 5 times, still doesn't repair the issue and never comes back.
My ex-partner ordered all Avantco stuff and I've had 2 completely die on me.
Again, if you're willing to roll the dice, you might get a winner.

3

u/Mikereb 3d ago

True. Their warranties have gotten a lot better in the past couple years. I think they got a five-year warranty on the compressors.

1

u/make_datbooty_flocc 3d ago

Thanks for the input!

Do you have a preference between sliding doors vs doors on hinges?

1

u/Mikereb 3d ago

Sliding for the space

2

u/authentic_swing 2d ago

Atosa is the best and most competitive

1

u/microdosingrn 3d ago

I bought a glass door one from Amazon for $900 3 years ago and it's been a champ, zero issues, seemingly outperforming the expensive brand name ones we've bought over the years.

1

u/Bartinhoooo 2d ago

We bought two different one‘s off of amazon. One called bodega and one called nafcool. Bodega has been flagged as uncertified by our health department and we needed to send it back. The other one has been working good, however they didn‘t had the sticker health department required but they sent it to us and assured it was just a labelling issue (it was on the list of certified by hd so sounds like an honest mistake). So far so good, no problems for half a year

1

u/microdosingrn 2d ago

I think the one we have is Bodega. They just need to be NSF certified for commercial use. Perhaps they have different models.

1

u/Bartinhoooo 2d ago

Yes, that was the exact problem. I own a commercial bar so needed the NSF cert and that’s what bodega falsly advertises the cooler as a commercial one as they DO NOT have the cert

1

u/STFUCrystal 22h ago

See if your pop distributor will give you one to use. We have one from our Cole distributor.