Dish caddies, plate dispensers, and tray carts are essential for high-volume service areas like buffets, cafeterias, dining halls, and catered events. Not only do they keep your china dinnerware and food trays organized, but different dish dispensers let you store, transport, and dispense clean dishes safely and sanitarily. There are different types of tray and dish dispensers with various unique applications. Utilizing the correct one in your operation can reduce the costs of broken dishes and the potential for health code violations.
Use the following links to explore the types of tray and dish dispensers:
Your business has its own set of needs and challenges, so choose a plate dispenser that fits the nature of your operation. For example, if you run a substantial buffet, you probably have built-in counters with space to install permanent drop-in dinner plate holders. If you operate an event venue, you likely need versatile dish dispensers since they may serve as storage, transportation, and dispensing units.
A mobile dish dispenser consists of a base with casters and one or more wells to hold plates or other dishes. Choose a freestanding plate dispenser for mobile buffet setups, temporary catering lines, or applications where dishes need transporting between multiple locations. This plate dispenser type is also handy in the kitchen to safely transport clean plates from the dish room to a plating area.
Business types: Caterers, event venues, cafeterias, and hospitality
Drop-in dispensers are installed directly into a counter and require a permanent cabinet. They offer the benefit of a sleek, professional look for customer-facing usage. Choose this type of dispenser if your business has a permanent buffet setup, has the space for stationary plate dispensers, and utilizes other methods for transporting dinnerware.
Business types: Restaurants with permanent buffets and cafeterias
Many types of dish dispensers fit the different needs of establishments to increase their efficiency. In addition to mobile and stationary units, the appearance of the dispenser also varies. As you consider your operation, check out some of the benefits of the various dish dispenser types.
Open dish caddies are dish dispensers that have exposed tubes or wells. These dispensers are ideal for various applications, including cafeterias, buffets, or salad bars.
Benefits of open dish caddies:
The sleek sides of enclosed dish dispensers look professional in establishments where you want a more upscale appearance.
Benefits of shielded dish dispensers:
Use a heated plate dispenser to keep plates warm until use, which keeps food hot for longer. These dispensers are crucial for businesses that need to keep meals at food safe temperatures during plating.
Benefits of heated plate holders:
Trays are a crucial part of establishments like cafeterias, and there are many types of tray dispensers you can use in your operation. In many ways, tray dispensers look and work just like plate dispensers. Because of this, follow the same logic when considering your tray dispenser's application, type, and sizing requirements. When choosing a cafeteria tray dispenser, examine the primary considerations for plate and dish dispensers.
Some applications may not work with a standard freestanding or drop-in plate dispenser. If that is the case, it may be time for you to purchase a specialty dispenser designed for your particular job.
Sizing is a vital aspect of plate and dish dispensers. Follow these four simple steps to find the plate dispenser size that will best fit your needs.
Plate and dish dispensers are available with wells in several shapes to match your china. There are styles available to accommodate round plates, oval platters, or square plates and dishes.
Purchase the smallest size dispenser that fits your china. Before choosing the dimensions of the wells, you need to know the dimensions of the different types of china that you store and dispense. To find this information, you may need to physically measure the dinnerware.
There are two types of wells to choose from - standard wells with a fixed size and adjustable wells that can be modified in the field to hold different sizes of dinnerware. Each has its benefits and drawbacks.
Note that some tableware varies very slightly in size from one piece to another. Lakeside, for example, recommends allowing for a 1/8" variance from the specified dimensions of your china to be sure that the dispensers you choose will be a good fit.
Find out how many plates a unit will hold by stacking and measuring your china. If you do not have your china yet, the manufacturer's specifications of your chosen plates may help you estimate.
Most standard plate dispensers can hold a stack of plates up to 25" high. If you need an ADA height model, the capacity may be limited to 22" high.
Plate dispensers come with different quantities of wells to meet different capacity needs. Most drop-in dispensers come as single wells, but you can purchase the number needed to outfit your buffet line.
For freestanding plate dispensers, purchase a single, double, triple, or quadruple well model. If you choose an adjustable plate dispenser with multiple wells, you could use the unit to hold and dispense plates of different sizes at the same time.
Back to TopAs you consider the various needs of your establishment, there are several other dish dispenser considerations. Examine your kitchen, plating area, and buffet to ensure that the unit specifications fit in size and appearance. Additionally, some extra features increase the efficiency of your dispenser.
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