ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607220005
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID FRANECKI RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Just in time for the dog days of summer comes the frozen confection with a liquor kick.
A Richmond refrigeration company is hoping that Virginians will like its spiked variety of the sweet, carbonated slush drink that has became popular at 7-Eleven convenience stores under the brand name Slurpee.
The Scherr Cos. have developed a new line of machines that will produce Slurpee-like alcoholic drinks.
Scherr distributes machines made by IMI Cornelius Inc., 7-Eleven's sole supplier of Slurpee dispensers. Scherr can't use the protected Slurpee name, but the icy drink is the same.
The distributor invited 100 area bar and restaurant owners to its offices to showcase the new model, nicknamed ``the robot bartender.''
Scherr sales manager Doug Walker said the idea hit him while he was staring at the treat dispenser that swishes red and blue brew around its multibarrel face.
``I just kept looking at the machine and, jokingly to begin with, said, `That would make a heck of a strawberry daiquiri, pina colada or margarita.'''
After two months of testing and getting state Alcohol Beverage Control Board approval, Walker said, ``We've got a knockout drink now.''
Although Scherr developed the concept, Cornelius still owns the machines, with Scherr as the distributor. The alcoholic drink dispenser is a way to distribute more Cornelius machines, Scherr officials said.
The dispenser comes in floor-upright and countertop models with two and four flavor varieties. It's practical for bars or restaurants that serve a high volume of frozen drinks because it is a cost-effective way to free up a bartender for other duties, Walker said.
``Bartenders hate frozen drinks because they take so much time,'' he said. ``[Frozen drinks] back the whole bar up.''
But the turn of a handle on the two-flavor model taps 100 ounces of frosty fluid per minute from the white plastic spout. Each of the machine's cylinders holds about two gallons, but they are continually replenished with water and a syrup-liquor solution.
With a sticker price of about $15,000, a vendor would have to sell 13 drinks a day for about $3 apiece to break even in the first year of the investment.
The machine's list price is the same as a regular Cornelius Slurpee machine. Walker said Scherr expects to sell up to 25 units this year.
All that distinguishes the robot bartender from Slurpee machines at 7-Eleven counters are setting adjustments that allow alcohol to circulate through robot bartender's tubing, Scherr officials said. They declined to discuss specific design characteristics.
Scherr says its machine is the first of its kind to win blanket ABC approval. An ABC official and other drink machine distributors said Scherr's machine is the first to introduce carbonation into frozen drinks, but frozen cocktail dispensers are nothing new.
Ernie Deane, owner of Deane & Co., which distributes Coldelite brand frozen drink machines, said 20 to 30 Richmond-area bars and restaurants already have frozen cocktail machines tapping margaritas and daiquiris.
A 1980 law allowed frozen drink makers to apply for ABC approval and distribute the machines in Virginia.
``The concept's been around for eons and legal in Virginia since 1980,'' Deane said. ``As a frozen carbonated drink machine, it's a different wrinkle to the program that's available.''
ABC officer Alan Hudson said two other Richmond-area distributors, Deane & Co. and Atlantic Dominion Distributors, have attained licenses for similar machines.
Scherr has its robot bartender pour drinks with about 17 percent liquor, although the alcohol content can be adjusted.
The ABC board's biggest concern was that the machine mix a uniform batch, ensuring that the first drink poured has the same amount of alcohol as the last, Walker said.
A peek inside the machine reveals an elaborate network of bundled wires and curling plastic tubes, as science creates sweet slush.
Walker said he's been saddled with the duty of slurping drink samples in the two months of perfecting the product. With a slight blush and a grin, he swears it's all in the name of product research.
``Since we've been doing the testing ... I'm forced.''
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: APby CNB1. C. Doug Walker, sales manager of the Scherr Cos., has received
approval from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control board to
market machines that have been modified to make frozen alcoholic
daiquiris and margaritas.
2. Walker says the machine is practical for bars and restaurants
because it frees up a bartender for other duties.