3 Things To Consider When Choosing A Refrigeration System For Your New Restaurant
Are you getting ready to invest in a commercial refrigeration system for your new restaurant? Here are a few things to consider first:
Preparation and Storage Scheduling
One important thing to consider when choosing a commercial refrigeration system for your restaurant is your new restaurant's preparation and storage schedule. How much food do you plan to prep before it's needed by your chef in the kitchen? And how long will you store prepared ingredients and leftover foods before throwing it out?
Answering these questions will help you realistically determine how much storage space you'll need in the kitchen at any given time. Once you know how much storage space you will need, you can figure out what size refrigerator you need and whether you'll actually need more than one fridge. And by knowing what you'll be storing most often, you can figure out whether a top or front load refrigeration system would be most convenient for your kitchen crew.
Your Overall Kitchen Design
The design of your new restaurant's kitchen is another important consideration to make when deciding what type of refrigeration system to utilize. You may need two fridges, but your kitchen is only big enough for one. In this case, you may want to consider converting a walk-in pantry into a walk-in fridge so you can save kitchen space and meet your refrigeration needs over time.
If you're installing a top load fridge, measure the height of the counters so you can choose a fridge option that's about the same height. This way, the fridge's top door can be used as counter space throughout the day.
And if the look of your kitchen is important to you, consider the materials that all of your other appliances and pieces of equipment are made of. If the majority is stainless steel, go for a steel refrigeration system. If you're working with a hodgepodge of different material types, simply choose the material you like the best.
Cleaning and Maintenance Requirements
It's a good idea to decide how much time you can commit to maintaining your new refrigeration system as time goes on before actually purchasing your system. While some commercial refrigerators require daily cleaning and special care to stay in good shape, others are self-cleaning and don't need much more than a quick wipe down once in awhile.
You'll pay more for the refrigeration systems with extra features, so if you have the time and manpower to do some cleaning and maintenance on a regular basis you may as well save yourself some money and go for a basic option. But if you plan to run a fast-paced restaurant with a skeleton crew, at least to start, an option with lots of features is probably your best bet.
