Commercial refrigerators are a necessity for businesses in the hospitality sector, from large restaurants, to small cafes, supermarkets, or delis. Various factors will dictate which style of commercial fridge will be best for your, your business and your needs.
You may require a small fridge for storage in the back room, or a merchandising fridge on the shop floor for customers to be able to grab their own cold stock. Your decision when choosing a commercial refrigerator will be influenced by the size you need, the available space you have, your budget and it’s practical uses. If your business is expanding, it may be worthwhile selecting a fridge larger than your current needs to allow room for growth.
Here’s a few of the most common styles of commercial refrigerator, and some notes on what businesses they will benefit:
Walk-in refrigerator
Walk-in refrigerators are a great solution for businesses that require a lot of cold storage, such as busy restaurants. Walk-in refrigerators can vary in size depending on your needs. They can be more energy efficient than some other fridges, as you can enter the walk-in and close the door behind you to keep the cool air in while you peruse the shelves.
It’s a good idea to have a walk-in refrigerator near where deliveries are dropped off so that all cold stock can be immediately put away. The use of a second, smaller refrigerator in a more convenient location (such as the kitchen) is often a good option to go hand in hand with a walk-in refrigerator.
Chest fridge
Chest-style fridges (and freezers) can be popular for businesses such as petrol stations, supermarkets or cafes. They come in a variety of sizes so that you can choose the one suited to your needs and your available space. They sometimes come on wheels, offering some manoeuvrability.
Businesses such as supermarkets may have a chest fridge on the shop floor so customers can browse the wares within. Glass topped chest fridges and freezers are popular in this way, perfect for stocking ice-creams during the summer and allowing your customers to help themselves to their selections.
Bar and undercounter fridges
Commercial bar fridges, and other compact fridges that fit under a counter, are a quick solution offering easy access to the stored items – often alcohol, mixers or other beverages. They work well when coupled with a walk-in fridge somewhere else on the premises – as the bar fridge runs out of stock, it can be replenished from the walk-in fridge.
Display fridge
Display fridges are popular among cafes and store fronts looking to sell food and beverages to their customers straight from the fridge in a self-serve manner. Display fridges can vary in size to suit your needs, but in general can hold a great variety of stock (think sandwiches, cool drinks or milk cartons). With glass doors allowing visibility to the stock inside, customers can easily and effortlessly shop these wares themselves. Display fridges are a staple in fast-paced retail/hospitality environments.
Workbench/prep table fridge
A workbench/prep table fridge is ideal for large scale commercial kitchens. Featuring a workbench on which to prepare meals, beneath the bench are fridges making it easy to grab the ingredients you need, or to pop the prepared food away until it’s needed. Workbench fridges assist in the many multi-tasking operations occurring within a busy commercial kitchen at any given time. These sorts of fridges are often seen in diners, delis and busy restaurants.
The importance of regular maintenance
As a commercial business, you rely on your commercial refrigerator to be working efficiently at all times. A struggling refrigerator, or one that breaks down completely, can cause huge disruptions to your business, not to mention the monetary consequences of loss of stock, or the often-high costs for emergency repairs to the fridge.
Working with food comes with health and safety obligations, and you can’t afford to have a less-than-reliable refrigerator. To ensure you’re meeting all guidelines for cool food storage and other food health and safety responsibilities, make sure you have selected the right fridge for your business, and that you get your refrigerator routinely cleaned and serviced.
Ensure your fridge is routinely cleaned by your team, with old food thrown out and temperature checks being completed. In addition, your commercial refrigerator should be regularly maintained and serviced by a certified fridge technician.
Regular services will help keep your refrigerator in tip-top shape, and help in identifying any potential issues before they cause real damage. This way, all problems can be rectified before they cause huge disruptions to your business operation.
Seek out experts in commercial refrigeration in Perth to get your fridges serviced and maintained. If there are problems or your fridge does break down, commercial refrigeration repair should always be carried out by a qualified technician, who will be able to get your fridge working as it should in no time.
These are some of the common choices of commercial refrigerators available on the market today. The type of commercial refrigerator best suited to you will depend on your business, your available space, intended use and your budget.