Crackerbarrel

Hello all!
I am the manager of a small restaurant in Arcadia, LA. The owners of the establishment have recentlty told me we will be building a larger facility on top of the interstate in our area. It has become my responsibility to design a kitchen that will flow well and of course keep down size as we don't need to waste any space.

We had the opportunity to tour a Crackerbarrel not too long ago and we loved the setup of their kitchen, it seemed like it would work well for our country restaurant. But unfortunatley as I do not have a photographic memory, I do not remember all the particulars of the kitchen. So if anyone here is the manager or owner of a Crackerbarrel or any restaurant that you think has an excellent kitchen setup. Please email me pictures or drawings of your setups at thecountrycottage@hughes.net so I can get some ideas from it. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

have you tried going to youyr local zoning/building dept and requested blue prints?

quote:

Originally posted by dreamzpainter

have you tried going to youyr local zoning/building dept and requested blue prints?

Very good idea

How many square feet are you allowed? What equipment do you require?

if they are building new commercial space, the architect involved should be able to assit. if not, a lot of the equipment suppliers will work with you on space design as well. crackerbarrel is a "chain" with a specific menu, and like most of these establishments, their kitchen is designed around their menu and serving times.
if you don't have the layout yet (unless they are building around your needs) you can't get much done.
if you are a competitive distance AWAY from a crackerbarrel, drive there and ask for another tour.

I'm no businessman, but I'd imagine that the layout is defined by the resources. I do agree about Cracker Barrel, and will throw in Steak~n~Shake as another chain to emulate to a degree if you're going into the business.

I found a recipe for ice cream in a bag here: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Printable-Cookbooks-Ice-Cream-in-a-Bag/Detail.aspx My line of thinking went thusly:

1. I was going to walk in Lake County's Cancer Walk anyway
2. This made a not-bad batch of Vanilla when I did it, although I've had better.
3. I can probably sell these by the bag for $1 or so if you're willing to do the lap necessary to freeze it properly, or charge you an extra 50 cents and do the lap for you.

The problem was, I found the recipe too late to figure out the necessary, uh, logistics down to make it work efficiently. You need to wrap the bag of ice and salt in a towel or something to protect your hands from the cold generated here. I'm not trying to freeze anyone's whatever by doing this, obviously! I could have, otherwise, made Lake County, IL's chapter of the American Cancer Society some jingle.

I agree with shibashi. Go to your foodservice/equipment dealer and ask them to help you design the kitchen to coordinate with your menu offerings. There's a lot of free assistance out there. You just have to ask for it.