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As a newbie to the business but an old pro at restorating buildings my plumbing sub-contractor is doing layout of our new water distribution. What formula do you use in deciding the daily ice machine production? Pepsi has supplied me with the equipment, foc, except an ice machine. We're a 320 seat sub-run house, re-opening in June.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ed Buchinski,
Grand Theater,
East Greenville PA www.thegrandtheater.org

I would go with a manatowoc (sp) 200Lb half cube machine, we have the smaller one and it Barley keeps up with our single screen on busy shows we run out and have to buy ice...

go with 1/2 cubes, they break up easier and don't splash soda back out of the cups as much as their full cubes do.


Tony.

Hi Ed,

I use a 200 lb capacity half cuber here at the Roxy. That covers my volume quite well. The only time we run short is during big blockbuster movies during the summer time that have 3 or more shows per day. I would think that 200 lbs would cover 99% of your needs.

Even though a smaller unit would serve you most of the time, you need to be prepared for the busy times. I wouldn't suggest going any smaller.

you guys must be WAY busier than me. I have a 100lb ice flaker and it is more than sufficient. It shoots ice out really fast though and 100 lbs of flakes is quite a lot.

We never had a problem with our Scotsman flaker keeping up with the traffic either in a 322 seat single screen turning 5 shows per day of hot kids films. Flakers (crushed ice) are better because people like the ice better and because the pop doesn't splash all over when filling the cups. I miss mine! It is in storage while we use up the old Hoshizaki 450 cuber that came with the 4 plex.

Thanks to all for responding as it has helped me out greatly. Just to let everyone know how it went in case anyone is looking to replace their machine...

We went with the Mantiwoc S322 which puts out about 250lb/day with a B320 bin which holds 210 lbs. 1/2 dice cubber. The nice thing about the machine is the size, fully assembled it measures 22" wide, 36" deep, and 60" high, which is perfect for the closet where it needs to be installed. It listed for $5300 and change from the distributor in Allentown PA. I got it for $2400 and change from a large concession/food service distributor in Atlanta, [url=http://www.AcityDiscount.com.]www.AcityDiscount.com.[/url]

I think for drinks we should be in good shape, Pepsi Bottling Group is giving us everything else as well as putting it in for free.

Again, thanks for the help!

---

Ed Buchinski,
Grand Theater,
East Greenville PA
www.thegrandtheater.org

Ed,

It sounds like our theatres are fairly similar. Try hitting Pepsi up for some good in-kind donations in exchange for you using them as an exclusive supplier.

We did that when we switched from Coke to Pepsi, and Pepsi offered us about $46,000 worth of advertising, free product, and other goodies in exchange for a 5-year contract. It has definitely been to our benefit (particularly the use of their advertising spots.)

Since you're a similar kind of theatre, a little deal making couldn't hurt.

Rance