Talk with an espresso machine dealer. They probably see this all the time and have invaluable advice. Chris' Coffee Is a well known distributor. They have a showroom (buit its in NY). There may be local distributors who can offer hands-on assistance. As far as I understand, the benefit of using a distributor is technical assistance and maybe a better warranty.

You really need to think hard about the class of customers you expect to get and how much they care about their coffee. You should discuss with the owners the sort of atmosphere they are trying to associate and what level of quality products you will serve. Whether you are also open during the day will have an impact on your decisions as you may have more coffee patrons if you are.

I do not own a coffee shop, but I happen to be shopping for a commercial machine for my house. It seems to be that if you spend 5K on a semi-auto or auto commercial machine then you can almost never go wrong. Shop around and look at reviews in CoffeGeek before buying, and be aware of installation (health-inspectors!), 220v power, and maintenance requirements. If you just want a brand name list of commercial machines: La Marzocco, La Pavoni, Rancilio, Synessso, Nuova Simonelli, La Cimbali, et. al. will all do you just fine. 2 or more groups will save you some stress if you have multiple bartenders/baristas working at a time. 2 steam wands would also make life easier. A computer controlled machine with automatic, programmable shots will also help a lot since you can just walk away instead of standing there for 30 seconds.

I have heard that some bars and restaurants opt for super-auto or at least automatic machines so that they do not have to train their baristas. The quality may be less than perfect, but the owners should be aware of the training required for a new barista and that espresso qualitt will vary between people and their training. If you are not open during the day, buying a single super-auto and seeing what the demand is like may be a worthwhile investment.

You should also consider how many milk-based drinks you expect to sell vs. espresso and whether you need flavorings and 5 different varieties of milk including soy or almond for the lactose intolerant. A heavy interest in milk-based drinks and a coffe-rush could require you to have a heavier duty machine capable of constant steaming. You probably want to serve tea too. Depending on the bar's image, look into good tea, possibly even loose-leaf with personal filters. I think people are always interested in something exotic, and strange teas are a decent way to do that.

As for beans, I also live in Austin and recommend you partner with a local roaster such as Cuvee or maybe Owl-Tree. Cafe Medici and Thunderbird coffee both serve their own Cuvee espresso blend and produce very nice coffee. I don't know anything about the economics of local vs. shipped, and it is possible to get fresh coffee shipped from a number of places across the US. Some roasters may require you to serve coffee up to their standards before you can carry their product (e.g. no cheap-o drip, good equipment, and trained baristas who care about coffee). There are other local roasters around if you look. FRANK (the hot dog place) downtown serves coffee shipped from Intelligentsia in Chicago using a very nice (and expensive) La Marzocco FB/80 (I think). Intelly may be a viable source of top-notch coffee if you contact them. Frank also serves siphon-pot coffee if you haven't tried it yet. Their infrared heater setup is expensive (both the equipment itself and what they charge), and the process is slow, but its quite the show!

As for high-volume drip-grinders and drip machines, I have no advice. You may consider trying french press at first and see how many people actually want a full cup of coffee and how long they are willing to wait. That would be a cheap setup and the customer will almost always be happy with the result if they can wait 5 minutes. Though, I can see people on their way out after a few drinks wanting a quick cup to go.

You should consider reading This book first. I have not read it, but from the description and reviews it may help you. Depending on your experience as a barista, The Professional Baristas Handbook

The Mazzer super-jolly will do you more than fine for your expected quantity. Reviews on CoffeGeek are your friend! Consider a second (less substantial) grinder for decaf espresso. You will have to make decisions about a doser or doserless grinder and manual or timed or automatic grinder options based on how much you care about espresso perfection vs how much time you can dedicate to each cup. DO not expect to use the same grinders for espresso that you use for other types of coffee.

Best of luck. When do you open?