So you own a restaurant and want to upgrade your beef business? The best way to go is to invest in a dry aging room. This isn't as expensive to do as you might think. Of course with dry aged beef, you are going to get a richer deeper flavor profile with all your top cuts of beef, including filet, ribeye, porter house steaks, and even the spectacular cuts of Kobe beef that will make your customers' mouths water. Aged beef done right is a great addition to any menu and will allow you to obviously, in the end, raise your bottom line quite a bit.
With any restaurant and kitchen equipment to buy there are levels of expenses to think about. With your dry aging room, this is one area you can definitely choose to be a little more economical on. One of the most important parts to look into is the type of shelving you want to use. That's going to be key in holding up all the weight of those expensive cuts of meat. Stability is vital here for a top-notch dry aging room.
Let's go over the ways you can set up your restaurant's new dry aging room on a budget. Because as everyone in the restaurant industry knows, being cost effective is the only way to stay in business.
Decide Front of House or Back of House for Your Dry Aging Room
Of course, front of house is going to need to be a little more presentable and dramatic, which equals expensive. You'll probably know by the tone of your establishment if you want to go front or back with your room. Keep in mind though, you can save considerable money by just finding a space in the back of the house that will allow for your dry aging room. This is especially true if you don't have to renovate to add on this addition to your restaurant.
Spend the Money on the Shelves
The shelves that you choose are going to be very important. As we said before they are going to need to hold a serious amount of meat weight, so investing in high quality shelving is necessary. This is one part you don't want to skimp on. They also need to be rust-proof and antimicrobial so that bacteria doesn't have a chance to grow and flourish where you don't want it to. Try to have shelves that have removable shelf plates so that you can set the meat directly on the plates and remove them for easier cleaning. Then you also don't have to buy extra shelf mats because that's just an added expense you don't need. With quality shelves, you'll see that it's worth the money to invest in a brand that you trust.
Ask Contacts in the Industry for Tips or Buy Hardly Used Dry Aging Equipment
Ask around to some of your friends in the industry to find out what they are using in their dry aging rooms as well. They might know some vendors who will sell you the items you'll need for a dry aging room at a discounted price. Also don't rule out places like Ebay. There are always restaurants going out of business so you can find new or hardly used equipment that restaurant owners and chefs are just dying to get rid of for a bargain price.