I'm in the process of getting my bakery up and running (I will have a store front shop serving sweets and breads). I need all equip. my biggest questions are these.

1) gas or electric? gass is more for the equip., but does it save money in the long run?? do electrics bleed you dry on your utility costs?

2) convection or rack oven? the mini rack and JET convection from empire seem interesting...

3) Display cases? anyone know of a good one. easy to clean, looks nice, flat on top so I can display stuff.

I would like to get as much used as possible. does anyone know a good used supplier or a good auction site. there are so many if you do a whole search, wondering if you can reccomend one that it legit.

oh, this is all commercial stuff..must be NSF cert.


thanks for all your help!

really? no one has an opinion? I'm so stressed out and afraid I'll hate the one that I pick!

Sorry that no one but me has responded yet! I apologize b/c I am certainly no expert!

My opinions - talk to the local bakery equipment supply store in your area. They likely have used equipment to sell. They can advise you on gas vs. electric. They can actually show you all the different ovens and you can decide from there. Apparently, they have a wealth of info on all these questions and, if you strike up a friendly convo, maybe they will give you deals. I believe almost every price is negotiable.

Good luck!

I like gas ovens.

Prefer a double stacked convection oven for how much I can bake at once.

Doing a Google search I found many places that sell used equipment (and new) but I'm not certain how trust worthy they are. I personally would hire a Chef friend of mine or a repair man to help me purchase the right equipment.

I've been studying up on display cases and I would only buy a refrigerated case. The room temp. ones aren't stylish and you can make something yourself way cheaper. Just using a glass shield like Panera would be the way I'd go.

Did you see http://thelittlecupcakecafe.co.uk/default.aspx she posted a little further down on this page showing her new bakery. I think she did an awesome job making her own display case!

You have to compare the price of gas versus electric in your area. We wouldn't know that sort of thing.

Every medium to large city has at least one restaurant supply company and they almost always have used equipment, too.

As far as auctions, contact a large auction company in your area and find out who specializes in liquidating restaurants and contact them.

And by rack oven are you talking about a deck oven? I like convection, but it will take a few tries to get used to it.

We went with a blodgett gas convection oven because gas is cheaper for us and we had a gas hookup in the shop already there. We just checked out a few different restuarant supply places and went with the one that was the most knowledgeable and service oriented for all our equipment.

I hope I can offer some insight. My business is going on 5 years. When I opened I bought all brand new equipment, I have never regretted this. I went with gas for my stove and oven, I pay about $55.00/mo that includes heating. I don't think you can beat that. I think you can go with any display case, whatever works for your space and budget. One word of advice...when we started I had all Kitchen Aid mixers and a 20QT Univex. I now do not have one Kitchen Aid in my kitchen. They can't handle the commercial mixing that you will put them through. I am still to this day trying to find the perfect mixer, but I know the Kithchen Aid is not that. Good Luck!

thanks! my BIG problem is that its a tiny town, not even really close to a medium town. so there isn't much in the line of local supply. there is only one restaurant in town they aren't thrilled to share. this is why I'm having such an ordeal. tons of online places, but I don't know if I should trust them. ugh! maybe i'll have to drive 4 hours into the 'city' and find something. i think I would have to travel for an auction place anyway! stink! small towns are great and terrible all at the same time!

I'm going to check out those display cases. thanks for the link!! my husband is handy, maybe he can do something like that for me!

Just a thought.....considering how much money you'll spend even on used equipment, it might be possible that the bakery equipment sales rep would travel to YOU.