Automatic Bar Controls
Automatic Bar Controls (Wunder-Bar) is a Vacaville, California-based manufacturer founded in 1971 that designs commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment — including post-mix bar guns, nitro dispensers, coffee equipment, and sauce portion-control systems — for bars, restaurants, coffee shops, pizza chains, and food service operators worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersVacaville, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Automatic Bar Controls does
Automatic Bar Controls, operating commercially as Wunder-Bar, is a Vacaville, California-based manufacturer founded in 1971 that designs and produces commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment for the foodservice industry. The company's product portfolio spans post-mix bar guns (M4 and M5 Bargun), nitrogenated beverage systems (JoeTap), bowl beverage dispensers (Starline), universal dispensers (Mustang), commercial coffee and tea equipment (Bloomfield), the IoT-enabled Spire 1.1 customer-facing dispenser with Global Dispensing Network (GDN) API connectivity, the Auto-Saucer pizza sauce portion control system, and condiment dispensers with Clean-In-Place sanitation. Core technology is fully hydraulic post-mix dispensing using bag-in-box syrup reservoirs with no electronic parts, engineered specifically for wet bar environments, complemented by patented portion-control systems for food prep.
The company operates a B2B hardware sales model with quote-based pricing, no publicly disclosed prices, and revenue derived from equipment sales, service parts, and support. Go-to-market relies on authorized distribution partners, a dedicated sales representative network, and e-commerce/service infrastructure integrated with The Middleby Corporation's platforms (shop.middleby.com, middlebyadvantage.com). Customer segments include bars and restaurants, coffee and tea operators, pizza chains, and broader food service operations across global markets, with patent protection extending across the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, China, and the EU. No public revenue, funding rounds, or headcount growth signals were disclosed; the company employs 51–100 people and is privately held.
Automatic Bar Controls firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Automatic Bar Controls
- Legal name
- Wunder-bar Automatic Bar Controls Inc.
- Website
- https://wunderbar.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Automatic Bar Controls (Wunder-Bar) is a Vacaville, California-based manufacturer founded in 1971 that designs commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment — including post-mix bar guns, nitro dispensers, coffee equipment, and sauce portion-control systems — for bars, restaurants, coffee shops, pizza chains, and food service operators worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Automatic Bar Controls industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Beverage and Food Dispensing Equipment
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (7225)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bar & Beverage Service Supplies Wholesale (AFAIALAG)
Keywords
Where Automatic Bar Controls is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vacaville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Automatic Bar Controls business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Beverage Dispensing Equipment Sales: Sale of commercial beverage dispensing equipment including barguns, beverage towers, nitro dispensers, and coffee equipment. Products are sold through direct quotes and distribution partners.
- Food Dispensing Equipment Sales: Sale of food dispensing systems including sauce portion control (Auto-Saucer) and condiment dispensers for commercial food service operations.
- Service Parts and Support: Replacement parts, service support, and documentation available through their support infrastructure and Middleby service platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Automatic Bar Controls product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Automatic Bar Controls (Wunder-Bar) designs and manufactures commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment for the foodservice industry. The product line spans post-mix bar guns (M4/M5 Bargun), nitro cold brew dispensers (JoeTap), bowl and universal beverage dispensers (Starline, Mustang), commercial coffee brewers (Bloomfield), interactive customer-facing dispensers (Spire 1.1), automated pizza sauce portion control (Auto-Saucer), and condiment dispensers, sold to bars, restaurants, coffee shops, pizza chains, and other hospitality operators.
Product overview
Wunder-bar Automatic Bar Controls is a manufacturer of commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment, organized into two main product categories: Beverage Dispensing Systems and Food Dispensing Systems. The beverage line includes post-mix bar dispensers (M5 Bargun, M4 Bargun), nitro cold brew systems (JoeTap), bowl beverage dispensers (Starline), universal beverage dispensers (Mustang), commercial coffee brewers (Bloomfield), and advanced interactive dispensers (Spire 1.1). The food dispensing line includes sauce portion control systems (Auto-Saucer) and condiment dispensers. The company also offers a Reman Program for refurbished equipment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- JoeTap: Nitro cold brew and beverage dispensing systems. A trusted brand since 2015 specializing in custom nitro dispense solutions.
- Bloomfield
Products and services
- M5 Bargun A post-mix bar dispenser featuring a systematic redesign that optimizes performance through enhanced functional components for faster dispensing and bottle-quality pour, for commercial bar operators.
- M4 Bargun The world's leading standard for post-mix bar dispensers: a compact, sturdy, fully hydraulic beverage gun serving up to 14 different products and designed for wet bar environments.
- JoeTap Nitrogenated beverage dispensing system for cold brew coffees, teas, lemonades, and pulp-free juices, targeting specialty coffee operators.
- Starline 5-gallon bowl beverage dispensers, in single and double bowl configurations, for clearly displaying and dispensing chilled still beverages such as flavored teas, lemonades, and fruit juices.
- Mustang Universal beverage dispenser combining sleek, compact design with up to 8 carbonated or non-carbonated flavors, one-touch metered dispense and top-off, USB-upgradeable, and ADA-compliant.
- Bloomfield Commercial coffee brewers and tea equipment offering high-quality commercial coffee makers and tea dispensers for foodservice operators.
- Spire 1.1 Advanced customer-facing beverage dispensing system with interactive customization, holding up to 12 brands or flavors in carbonated and non-carbonated formats and capable of pouring up to 3 flavors simultaneously, with remote monitoring and content management.
- Auto-Saucer Automated rotary sauce portion-control system for pizza prep that dispenses an even, consistent amount of sauce across dough, handling up to 5 dough types and 5 sizes (6 to 18 inches) with accuracy to 1/10th of an ounce.
- Condiment Dispensers Dispenser systems for condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and various sauces, available in manual, electrical, or pressurized gas configurations with a Clean-In-Place system for back-of-house and front-of-house use.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serve up to 400 drinks from a single syrup reservoir (bag-in-box)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Automatic Bar Controls
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Automatic Bar Controls technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Automatic Bar Controls partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Automatic Bar Controls competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cornelius (Marmon Group): Cornelius is a leading manufacturer of post-mix beverage dispensing systems, ice makers, and fountain equipment for foodservice. Directly comparable to Wunder-Bar as both target bar and restaurant operators with multi-flavor post-mix dispensers.
- Lancer (Marmon Group): Lancer manufactures post-mix and pre-mix beverage dispensing equipment, beverage counters, and ice systems. Sells into the same bars, restaurants, and convenience channels as Wunder-Bar with overlapping product functionality.
- Bunn-O-Matic Corporation: Bunn-O-Matic is a commercial coffee brewing and beverage dispensing equipment manufacturer, part of the Ali Group. Directly comparable to Wunder-Bar's Bloomfield and JoeTap product lines in coffee/tea service for foodservice operators.
- Grindmaster-Cecilware: Grindmaster-Cecilware manufactures commercial beverage equipment including dispensers, brewers, and grinders for foodservice. Overlaps with Wunder-Bar in coffee, tea, and specialty beverage dispensing categories.
- Server Products: Server Products manufactures food dispensing equipment including condiment pumps, sauce dispensers, and portion control systems. Directly comparable to Wunder-Bar's Condiment Dispensers and Auto-Saucer product lines for foodservice.
- Marco Beverage Systems: Marco Beverage Systems designs and manufactures specialty coffee brewing and dispensing equipment. Overlaps with Wunder-Bar's nitro cold brew and commercial coffee categories, particularly serving specialty coffee operators.
- Perlick Corporation: Perlick manufactures commercial bar equipment including underbar systems, beverage dispensing, and refrigeration. Sells into the same bar and restaurant end markets as Wunder-Bar with overlapping underbar dispensing technology.
Broad incumbents
- Hoshizaki America: Hoshizaki is a large commercial refrigeration, ice, and beverage equipment manufacturer. Overlaps with Wunder-Bar's beverage dispensing categories as part of a broader commercial foodservice equipment portfolio, including ice/beverage systems.
- Welbilt (Manitowoc Foodservice): Welbilt is a broad-line commercial foodservice equipment manufacturer with brands including Frymaster, Lincoln, and Cleveland. Operates in the same overall foodservice equipment category as Wunder-Bar but with a much wider portfolio spanning cooking, holding, and beverage.
- The Middleby Corporation: Middleby is a major commercial and residential foodservice equipment manufacturer and likely corporate parent given Wunder-Bar's use of shop.middleby.com and middlebyadvantage.com. Operates dozens of foodservice equipment brands covering the same end markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Automatic Bar Controls social profiles
Digital presenceAutomatic Bar Controls compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance17 records
Automatic Bar Controls financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Automatic Bar Controls leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Automatic Bar Controls funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Automatic Bar Controls M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Automatic Bar Controls
What does Automatic Bar Controls do?
Automatic Bar Controls (Wunder-Bar) designs and manufactures commercial beverage and food dispensing equipment for the foodservice industry. The product line spans post-mix bar guns (M4/M5 Bargun), nitro cold brew dispensers (JoeTap), bowl and universal beverage dispensers (Starline, Mustang), commercial coffee brewers (Bloomfield), interactive customer-facing dispensers (Spire 1.1), automated pizza sauce portion control (Auto-Saucer), and condiment dispensers, sold to bars, restaurants, coffee shops, pizza chains, and other hospitality operators.
Is Automatic Bar Controls a public or private company?
Automatic Bar Controls is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Automatic Bar Controls founded?
Automatic Bar Controls was founded in 1971. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Automatic Bar Controls based?
Automatic Bar Controls is headquartered in Vacaville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Automatic Bar Controls make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Beverage Dispensing Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are food Dispensing Equipment Sales and service Parts and Support.
Who are Automatic Bar Controls's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cornelius (Marmon Group), Lancer (Marmon Group), Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, Grindmaster-Cecilware, Server Products, Marco Beverage Systems and Perlick Corporation. Broad incumbents are Hoshizaki America, Welbilt (Manitowoc Foodservice) and The Middleby Corporation.
Does Automatic Bar Controls have an API?
Yes. The Spire 1.1 system offers API connectivity through Wunder-Bar’s Global Dispensing Network (GDN), enabling applications to monitor unit status, retrieve consumption data, and remotely push new video content (e.g., marketing videos) to Spire 1.1 units.
What industry is Automatic Bar Controls in?
Automatic Bar Controls's product category is Commercial Beverage and Food Dispensing Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAIALAG, Bar & Beverage Service Supplies Wholesale. Its NAICS code is 7225 and its SIC code is 2080.