With the must-have features out of the way, let’s discuss some of the accessory options you might want to go in for:
Lighting
Proper lighting not only helps showcase the beauty of a bar cabinet but also help create a safe, functional and comfortable environment for servers and clients.
Add overhead lights, especially above workspaces like countertops, sinks and ranges to help provide proper lighting to guide your servers through their work.
Recessed downlights directly above the center of countertops or along the perimeter of bar counter underneath countertops helps bring out the beauty of materials and contours of the countertop. This is especially true if the face of the bar counter is made of materials with surfaces that reflect warmer hues like zinc, copper or brass or inlaid or tiles stone countertops.
No matter how well you place downlights, upper cabinets will always block some of the light and make the space below them dark. To fight this, consider adding undercabinet lighting. As with recessed downlights, undercabinet lighting should be placed above the center of cabinets, rather than too far forward or back.
Installing LED tape lighting that faces the backsplash will reduce reflections on glossy stone counters, but it puts the brightest light in the wrong place and leaves counters too dark. Placing LED tape lighting too far forward can also create harsh shadows on the counter. We suggest testing a strip of light before installing it to make sure it pushes light onto the counter evenly.
Construction Tip #: Too many LED tape light products simply do not have enough punch to get the job done right. Look for a lumen count of 250 or more per linear foot.
Dimmers are not very expensive, but they are worth their weight in gold and can help you get the right amount of light on your counters.
Bar Sinks
Also called under counter/bar sinks, bar sinks are low height units designed to provide one or more sinks under your commercial bar or countertop. They help servers prepare drinks or wash glassware. Most models are constructed from durable, corrosion-resistant stainless steel.
There are additional features available that come in handy in a bar environment:
– Some undercounter bar sinks come with a backsplash or marine edge, making them ideal for washing glassware or other dishes,
– Features like insulated ice chests and speed racks/rails providing easy access to bottles help bartenders prepare drinks efficiently,
– Waste chute directly in front of the sink helps with speedier waste disposal.
A drop-in sink is lowered into a cutout in a surface and uses a wide flange to create a rim on top of the counter. Whereas, an undermount sink is installed from below a cutout with the same dimensions as the sink’s opening, leaving no rim on the countertop. Undermount sinks are more difficult to install, but create a more attractive, easy-to-clean countertop.
Most manufacturers of underbar sinks offer single, double, three-bowl and four-bowl models.
Bar Rails
Bar rails skirt the outside periphery of bar counters.
They provide higher seating comfort, add a visually pleasing element to bar counters and help reduce scratches to bar counter’s front elevation.
Bar foot rails provide customers a comfortable place to rest their feet when sitting in bar stools that are much higher up above the ground than dining chairs. Such foot rests double up to dress up your bar area as well and prevent customer’s feet from scratching the counter’s façade, especially if it is made up of materials that can scratch.
Ever wondered how high a bar foot rail is? Bar counter foot rail should be anywhere between 6 to 10 inches high from floor.
This is because the recommended gap between seating height and footrest is 20-24 inches. While standard bar counter height is 42 inches from the floor and seating height of a bar stool is usually 30 inches from floor. Thus, the recommended gap of 20 to 24 inches means that your bar counter foot rail should be anywhere between 6 to 10 inches high from floor if you are using barstools of 30-inch seating height. If you are using barstools with different seating heights, simply remember to maintain a 20-24 gap between seating height at footrest.
Also, your bar’s foot rest rail should be 6-inch from bar’s front elevation.
For proper support, support brackets should be placed 6 inches from each end of the rail (at most) and every 4 feet through the middle.
A bar foot rail system includes tubing, brackets, end caps and sometimes elbows, which connect together easily. The tubing usually comes in outside diameter thickness of 1.5” or 2”.
On bar rail finishes, there are many options to choose from. While powder coated finishes are de rigueur but shiny silver or gold finishes go well any decor. While brass goes well with any décor but it’s used much lesser given higher cost. Of late, industrial pipe rails as well as rustic wooden have started trending.
FurnitureRoots also provides custom foot rails as well as arm rest rails (including ADA compliant designs) for all our bar counter options.
Hardware
While good looking bar counter are always a sight to soak in, however the hardware that goes into making it is crucial to the underlying strength, stability and durability of the bar counter.
FurnitureRoots’ restaurant bar counters are made using only stainless-steel screws, nuts and other joinery hardware. This is to prevent any corrosions or rust related issues cropping up irrespective of age, environment and usage.
When it comes to drawer and cabinetry hardware we recommend and use only branded, commercial-grade level hardware, although we can customize for your choice of cabinetry hardware too.
While rest of the bar counter is not going to go through the grinder in terms of use, however cabinet locks, door handles, drawer pulls and channels undergo very extensive use and, thus, those are the ones most prone to breakages and disrepair. Which is why the usage of high-grade hardware for cabinetry cannot be stressed enough.