Know More about Types of Commercial Fridge & Buying Guide
A commercial refrigerator is a significant investment, and choosing the right one is critical to the well-being of your business when you work in the restaurant industry. Just how crucial is it? You might be surprised to learn that the market for commercial refrigeration equipment is worth more than two billion dollars a year.
With so many options on the market, how do you decide? We’re going to cover some of the most common types of commercial fridges and the situations in which they’re helpful.
What Do You Need in a Fridge?
The first item on your to-do list when purchasing a new commercial fridge should be deciding what capabilities and features you need, including:
- Number and type of doors.
- Dimensions, so be sure to measure the space where you’re thinking of installing the fridge.
- The number of shelves.
- If there’s a thermostat.
- If you need locks.
- How well-lit the refrigerator is, which is particularly important if you’re using it to display items to customers.
- Anything else relevant to your specific niche within the industry.
Knowing what you need—and what you want, too—can help you speed up the buying process.
Walk-In
When most of us picture a commercial fridge, we’re thinking about a walk-in. The large amount of storage space that a walk-in fridge provides means that your staff members can easily walk in, grab what they need, and return to what they were doing.
If you run a large-scale restaurant that requires you to buy ingredients in bulk, a walk-in fridge is an excellent choice. Walk-in fridges come in many different sizes, and they can be custom-built if need be.
Reach-Ins and Merchandisers
Reach-ins and merchandisers are technically different types of refrigerators, but we’re grouping them because they function the same way. You or your employees can open a door, reach in, and grab the item they need.
Reach-ins are meant for use by employees, while merchandisers are for use by customers. Both can have transparent doors. In reach-ins, this is so employees can monitor the contents. In merchandisers, this is to encourage impulse buys.
Dual-Temperature
Most restaurants and foodservice organizations need a freezer as well as a refrigerator. That’s where a dual-temperature unit comes in.
If you don’t have a lot of spare room, a dual temperature unit means you have a fridge and a freezer without taking up more space than you can spare.
Pass-Through
Pass-through fridges are helpful when you’re running a large and busy operation. Your staff can access items through different doors. This can be especially useful when the back of house staff need to transfer items to the front of house staff while keeping them chilled.
The same is true if you have a system set up where customers pick up their own food once it’s ready, like in a cafeteria.
Undercounter
An undercounter fridge might be the space-efficient refrigeration option you need. Rather than requiring employees to walk across a busy workspace to access the items they need, they can instead simply reach beneath the counter and get the fresh ingredients they need.
Undercounter refrigerators are practical in bar settings and allow you to maximize your space without taking away from the aesthetics of a room.
Worktop
If you’re in the restaurant business, you know the value of being able to do multiple things in the same space at once. With a worktop fridge, you have that option.
A worktop fridge lets you store all of the necessary ingredients to make a specific item while using the top as a prep surface. Often, this type of fridge comes with accessories like cutting boards.
If you’re in the market for a high-quality new commercial refrigerator or other restaurant supplies, contact Texas Restaurant Supply today. While we’re located in Texas, we offer nationwide freight services. With convenient locations in Grand Prairie and Irving, our goal is to get you the equipment you need to help your restaurant thrive without breaking the bank.