50 shots a day espresso machine

[wondercitycoffee]

Hello all!
I have already gotten some excellent advice on this forum so I'm coming back for more.
We are opening a coffee shop in a tiny town in Northeast Oklahoma population around 1400.
I expect to pull no more than 50 shots of espresso a day and need your help with recommendations for the best machine for that usage.
We originally planned on buying the Unic Stella De Caffe 2 group, but are rethinking the decision as a bit of overkill for our market.
We are newbies to the business, so ease of use and reliability are a must.
Comments from owners of shop in similar situations would be greatly appreciated!
Kelly

 

[sidg]

When you make the selection remember that those 50 shots won't be pulled evenly through the day. There is a good chance that you will pull over half of them in a 90 minute time frame from 7:30 to 9:00 or even less. Make sure your machine can handle the turnaround time to keep the water pressure and steam temperature up.
There are a lot of machines that will fit your needs but if you aren't familiar with working on an espresso machine you might want to find a repair person in your area and see what they work on and parts they carry. If you get a cheaper machine and can't get parts or have to pay someone to come a long way to fix it you will eat up whatever you saved very quickly.

 

[Musicphan]

The Unic's are fairly expensive compared to other solutions. First thing you need to do is find out who services machines in your area... you dont want a unsupported machine - its your lifeblood. I would think a Rancilio Class 7 or Nuova Appia 2 may be good options to look at... and probably half the price. BUT AGAIN - check for service.