The Omni-Rinse Story

The Omni-Rinse 3-in- 1 Rinse Station was designed, developed, and tested exhaustively in the
field by Naoki Sonoda, a bartender with over 15 years of experience. He wanted to create a
solution that would allow him to work faster and more efficiently.

Naoki found that what slowed him down behind the bar more than anything was making
shaken drinks—constantly interrupting workflow to rinse tins, jiggers, and Hawthorne strainers
(the most essential bar tools). A bartender’s natural tendency is to delay rinsing these tools
until they need them again, because they’re so focused on getting drinks to their guests. When
they run out of clean tins and other tools, they have to scramble to catch up, and that really
puts them behind.

Not having clean tins, jiggers, or strainers on hand to make cocktails forces bartenders to stop
their workflow. When this happens, they have to first locate whatever tool(s) they need, and
spend even more time rinsing them. As workflow is interrupted, valuable time is lost, and that
has a domino effect. If the bartender is behind, it takes the wait staff that much longer to return
to their tables. Seconds are so valuable in the restaurant business, and Naoki noticed that
stopping his workflow to rinse tins and other equipment was costing him—and the entire front
of house staff—valuable time.

“I wanted to design a machine that was simple, ergonomic, and specifically designed to
automate the rinsing process. Bartenders have to constantly rinse their tins and other tools
throughout a shift, and the existing methods of rinsing are just not optimal. For example, using
an automatic glass washer for the simple task of rinsing is a waste of time, chemicals, and
energy. Manually rinsing with the 3-compartment sink takes too long, and is inconsistent.
Using a faucet to rinse equipment takes even longer, yields even more inconsistent results,
and often results in a lot of wasted water. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen
bartenders–myself included–set a tin in a sink, turn the water on, and walk away to do
something else. That is both wasteful and unsanitary. Personally, I wouldn’t want my drink
shaken in a tin that was just sitting in a dump sink or hand wash sink! That’s why I went to
work on developing the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station.”

Like a lot of American businesses, Omni-Rinse started in a garage. “I started constructing the
3-in- 1 Rinse Station out of parts that I mostly found at the hardware store. I learned how to
sweat copper and do some basic woodwork from watching how-to videos online, and the rest
was just using some common sense (or what I thought was common sense!). Most
importantly, I was persistent. I refused to give up on my idea because I knew that the world of
beverage service needed the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station.”

After some refinement in design, he was able to test his unit at the restaurant where he
worked. “Shortly after working with the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station in the field, I knew that it provided
the solution that I was looking for. I no longer ran out of clean mixing tins or jiggers, and I could
produce drinks faster than ever before. I noticed that I could serve more guests in less time,
and that I could finish service well orders much more quickly! Lines in the service well during
busy periods remained consistently under 4 servers, rather than the usual 6-7 servers. This
meant that servers were getting back to their tables faster, and spending more time with their
guests.”

“Of course, the busier your bar is, the more chaotic it becomes. The 3-in- 1 Rinse Station
allows us to work with an order and calmness that didn’t exist before, because now, we never
run out of clean mixing tins and other essential tools. We finally have a system to help us
execute our cocktail program. When bartenders are running around frantic, that really detracts
from the guest experience. Bartenders should be working like a well-rehearsed, well-organized
production, and the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station helps to accomplish that.”

“The initial beta testing period of about 2 months really proved to me that the concept was
viable. We continued testing for over a year, just to keep exploring how we could improve the
product. During that year-long period, we redesigned the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station to make it more
affordable. Our new, sleek design is NSF certified, and ready for release. It’s a really exciting
time for us. I believe, without a doubt, that the 3-in- 1 Rinse Station is an indispensable
machine that every bar should have.”

 

Omni-Rinse HIGHLIGHTS

Integrated Rinsing System Key Benefits:
 Adds order to a once disorganized process
 Rinses mixing tins, mixing glasses, cobbler shakers, Hawthorne strainers,
wine-portioning quartinos, jiggers, juice containers, and more. All of the
key tools used for making cocktails can be rinsed with the Omni-Rinse.
 Quickly and easily disassembles for easy cleaning. All removable parts
are safe to wash in a low-temp glass washer, and will fit on a single
standard rack.
 Certified NSF 169
 Meets all federal lead-free standards
 Does not use electricity
 Does NOT wash or sanitize
 Provides a warm-water rinse in 7-10 seconds
 Rinses the inner and outer surfaces

Check out the Omni-Rinse training video to see it in action. Prefer a live demonstration or are you the type that wants to touch and feel a new product yourself? Visit the Chicago Bar Shop showroom in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, 921 W Armitage Ave for an in-person, live demonstration of the newest hospitality technology solutions for bars and restaurants, including Omni-Rinse.