As a restaurant owner, you probably wear a lot of hats and have to make a lot of decisions. One of those decisions is how you want to supply ice to the restaurant. There are really only two good choices. You can have an ice machine installed in the kitchen, which will make ice throughout the day. Or you can have pre-made and frozen ice delivered and stashed in a freezer. In many cases, you will be better off opting for the ice delivery service, and here's why.

1. There is less equipment to maintain.

If you buy an ice machine and rely on it to make your ice, you will have to maintain that machine. This is more work than you might realize. Ice machines are prone to mold growth, and they need to be taken apart and cleaned on a regular basis. If the part of the machine that flips the ice cube trays fails, you'll need to have repairs made. And if the gaskets on the door start failing, you need to replace them. When you have ice delivered, you don't need to do any of this. The delivery service will just plop the ice in a freezer, and freezers tend to be much easier to maintain. (Plus, you probably already have other freezers to maintain, and you can just maintain them all together.)

2. You won't suddenly be without ice or run out of ice.

If your ice machine suddenly fails, you will be without ice, and your customers won't be happy about that! Similarly, if you have a sudden rush of drink orders, you might use up all the ice in the ice machine and be left without. With ice delivery, you can better plan for these concerns. You can arrange to always keep the freezer more than halfway full of ice, for example, so you're never at risk of running out.

3. You'll save money.

Buying an ice machine is not cheap. Plus, the ice machine uses quite a lot of electricity and water to run. With ice delivery, you typically just pay a small delivery fee, and then you pay for the ice — and ice is pretty cheap. You can use the money you would have otherwise used to buy an ice machine to have new menus printed, hire more staff, or otherwise build your business.

When it comes to ice, delivery services are often your best choice as a restaurant owner. Contact an ice delivery service near you, and get started soon.