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92 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • MAY 2015 sidebar text And of course, the spirit of Bar 145 appears in its decor and design choices, both large and small. Overall, Bar 145 sports a slightly industrial appearance: exposed ductwork of galvanized metal; tables and chairs with black metal bases and a mix of light and dark hardwood tops and seats/seat- backs; vinyl plank fooring designed to look like concrete. Some touches add to the fun atmosphere. Cut-glass bourbon bottles serve as light fxtures, and one location features uncut bourbon bottles set into the limestone rock walls. On the larger scale, two features dominate the restaurant: the stage and the bar. While its size varies by unit, the stage generally runs about 12 feet by 15 feet. During the lunch and dinner peaks, it remains mostly empty, with some chairs and tables sitting right in front. As the evening wears on, though, staff dim the lights and move the tables to open up a dance foor before a band takes the stage at around 10 p.m. And Bar 145 does not schedule sloppy garage bands, Fitzgerald adds. They're popular acts from around Ohio and places like Chicago and Nashville. Among them are cover bands and other themed acts, allowing Bar 145 to host '80s nights, disco dance parties and dueling pianos. While the stage uses space that would normally go to revenue- generating tables, the investment "is defnitely worth it. The bands bring in the partiers . . . A lot of our sales come after 10 o'clock," says Fitzgerald. The bar becomes the concept's other dominating, and distinctive, feature. Essentially an island, one-third of the bar sits out on the patio while the rest sits inside the restaurant. This design, Fitzgerald says, helps create a unifed space. "Sitting outside, you can stare in and see the rest of the bar. You could be outside on the patio and still feel like you're part of the inside. You can see the customers, you can see the band and everything that's going on." Cooking with Energy With energy and atmosphere so important to Bar 145, the chain adds to its overall experience by operating an open kitchen. Staff handle kitchen duties brigade style, with one to two cooks responsible for everything at their stations. Instead of using screens and ticket-splitting software, an expediter runs the kitchen operations, calling out to each station what to cook and when to cook it. The cooking area consists of fve stations along two straight lines that share a walkway. Hot equipment sits on one line, while cold equipment and worktables sit on the other. Starting out the cold side, the plating station faces a window to the front of the house. Here team members receive dishes from the other stations and fnish them with traditional top- pings like lettuce and tomatoes for burgers, as well as nontra- ditional toppings, like spicy baked apple slices for the apple pie burger. This station consists of a 48-inch refrigerated table for cold toppings and a 6-foot worktable at which team members can plate items that don't require refrigerated additions. Opposite the plating area on the hot line resides the protein station, where staff cook gourmet burgers, chicken sandwiches and veggie burgers and also roast vegetables. This station centers on either a 6-foot chargrill or, if space is limited, a 5-foot infrared grill with grates. Both sit above undercounter refrigeration used for holding proteins. While one might think the smaller unit couldn't produce as many items, that's not the case, Lucas says. Since the infrared grill operates at high temperatures, it cooks food quickly enough to make up for its smaller cooking surface. Next comes the sauté station, which utilizes equipment on both the hot and cold lines. The key to this station is an eight- burner range sitting on top of a conventional oven. Here chefs make dishes to order, like maple bacon mac-and-cheese; goat cheese and chicken macaroni; chorizo mussels; and baccalà tacos (salted cod rinsed and served with olive oil, garlic and cilantro on fresh corn tortillas). Staff use the oven to cook chicken and salmon and make dishes like roasted bone marrow with sweet pepper giardiniera and grilled focaccia. Above this unit sits a chain profle ● ● Chain Headquarters: Toledo, Ohio ● ● Year Founded: 2011 ● ● Signature Menu Items: Stack-Your-Own burger menu; Simpleton Burger; conft duck wings; chicken and wafes ● ● Number of Units: Six stores (fve franchised, one company owned) ● ● Average Unit Size: 5,500 square feet ● ● Seats Per Unit: 175 ● ● Total System Sales: $16 million ● ● Average Sales: $2.7 million ● ● Unit Growth Projections: Three to fve new units per year ● ● Check Average: $15 ● ● Equipment Package Cost: $50,000 for kitchen equipment; $20,000 for bar coolers/ice machine ● ● Franchisee Fee: $36,000 (fee); $14,000 (grand opening) FACTS OF NOTE The chain's two dominant features are its bar, which sits partway on the outdoor patio, and its stage.