In 1974 the very first El Pibe restaurant opened its doors in Barcelona. They started with a simple menu of seven different types of sandwiches made with different types of sausages such as Frankfurts, Bratwurst, and Cervetas. These were paired with their delicious homemade sauces and could be enjoyed with a craft beer. Back in the 70s, people would queue for these mouthwatering sandwiches which made El Pibe one of the first makeshift take-away restaurants in Barcelona.

Now almost 50 years later they have five different locations throughout Barcelona and have a more extensive menu, with even more mouthwatering food. To ensure their kitchen runs smoothly El Pibe has invested in multiple pieces of Hoshizaki and GRAM kitchen equipment. In their kitchens you can find two IM ice cube makers, the Snowflake GII+ refrigeration, and the GRAM ECO PLUS. So we decided to ask El Pibe’s manager about their experience.

Why did you choose Hoshizaki specifically?

Because of the quality of the finishes and the design extras, such as something as simple as easy access to the machine’s air filter. Which allows you to carry out maintenance in a simple way. An extra that I really like are the door opening pedals of the GRAM ECO PLUS 70 RAG. These make life easier for us every time we go with our hands full. And the superior quality of the ice cubes also has an impact. They are compact, hard, and melt slowly.

How has the equipment improved your kitchen?

What I have noticed the most is the low rate of incidents, this gives me confidence that everything will work smoothly, both for me and my team. So that is another reason for us to buy Hoshizaki and Gram. It is an investment for our peace of mind.

Why is it important to you to have high-quality equipment in your type of kitchen?

If you want to maximize profits, you need to start by reducing operating costs, and Hoshizaki and Gram’s low-energy, reliable equipment helps to meet that goal.

To finish our interview, we asked El Pibe what they would say to other food businesses considering buying our Hoshizaki equipment. They replied: “Investing in high-quality equipment is investing in peace of mind. The incident rate is very low, so you don’t have to worry about anything other than keeping the maintenance up to date.”

Making sure design goes hand in hand with functionality is important. All pieces of Hoshizaki equipment are designed with stable and durable materials to make sure they can withstand the wear and tear in the kitchen. Also having a clever design to fit in every space while still being easy to maintain is an important factor.

So as El Pibe’s food adjusts to modern standards by renovating the classics they had on the menu, they keep up with the time by investing in modern equipment that will let them do their job in the easiest and pleasurable way.

Curious to know the exact equipment that El Pibe uses? We made you a list!

• IM-65NE-HC
• IM-45NE-HC
• Snowflake GII+ SUR-135BG-R-C
• GRAM ECO PLUS K/F 70 RAG