Commercial refrigerators are an essential investment when starting or running a business in the commercial hospitality industry, like restaurants, bars, supermarkets, cafes, and bakeries. However, there are various factors to consider when choosing a refrigerator for commercial use, such as its purpose, the space available, accessibility, cost, and features. Some commonly and widely used commercial refrigerators are upright chillers/freezers, cake display showcases, confectionery showcases, chest freezers, bar refrigerators, under-counter units, and refrigerated prep tables.

So how do you choose one that’s right for your business? We’ll break it down for you and explain the different types of commercial refrigerators available today.

• Visi Coolers and Visi Freezers

A Visi Cooler is an upright cooler unit designed to be placed in restaurants and commercial kitchens. These are widely popular and enable staff to quickly grab whatever is necessary without leaving their workstations. You can find them in supermarkets, and they are reasonably priced and can store a lot of food efficiently. They come in glass doors and solid door variants. The temperature ranges from 1°C to 10°C and can store and display beverages like cold drinks, milk, dairy products, etc.  

Visi Freezers are upright freezers similar to their cooler counterparts, except that the temperature range is much lower, and they work as vertical freezers. These can also be found in supermarkets and retail industries and are used to store and display ice creams, frozen food and snacks, and processed meat products like cold cuts. The temperature ranges from -18°C to -22°C.

Visi coolers and freezers come in single, double, or triple-door models.

• Horizontal Freezer / Deep Freezer / Chest Freezer.

These units are horizontal and sit on the floor; they can be mobile with wheels attached to the bottom or static. These are available in glass top variants which allow for a clear display, or hard top, which does not allow a view of what is stored within. Some deep freezers are also convertible, performing both cooling and freezing functions. The temperature of these freezers can range from 8°C to -25°C. 

Whereas glass-top freezers are solely used for freezing only. These units’ temperature is between -16°C and – 24°C. Often products are stored in chest freezers in bulk and are moved to Visi freezers for a display to the front as and when needed.

These commercial freezers can store immense amounts of products like frozen food, ice cream, milk, curd, butter, raw meat, and processed food.

• Serve over counters

Serve-over counters are perfect for butcher shops, meat shops, and dairy items. They are compact and can be kept over the counter. They are easy to transport, and mobile and provide good visibility and easy access to food kept inside. Serve over counters make it easy to store and present your sandwiches, cakes, drinks, and other chilled products in a stylish and practical display. These refrigerators have a large display area and a small shelf behind the counter perfect for serving, and customers can clearly see what’s available and make the best choice. The temperature range of these units tends to range from 3°C to – 7°.

• Under Counter Chiller / Freezer

This refrigeration unit is like reach-in refrigeration; the only variation that serves as the USP of this refrigeration system is that it is much shorter than reach-in companies and can fit in a tiny space. It is a small, portable unit ideal for a commercial kitchen. It is an excellent option if your commercial kitchen requires a small team to store a few products that can be used as needed. Refrigeration under the counter is ideal for individuals with cloud kitchens or tiny food counters.

• Bar Refrigerator / Back Bar

Bar fridges, also known as back bars, are commonly used in restaurants, casinos, pubs, bars, airports, and convenience stores. They are used to store and organize drinks and garnishes and keep everything ready to serve. Bar fridges are designed to be small and easy to keep either over the counter, under it, or in smaller spaces in a business. The temperature ranges from 2°C to 10°C.

They also usually have internal LED lights to keep items visible, so they’re easy to grab. There are also fridges designed to hold specific beverages. For instance, there are specific refrigerators designed to keep wine and canned beverage fridges with interiors designed to hold drinks of a specific shape.

• Pastry Cabinets / Confectionery Showcase

Pastry cabinets and confectionery showcase are commonly used in bakeries and cake shops to display cakes, baked goodies, pastries, sweets, and cooked snacks. They’re elegant in design and meant to attract customers. These cabinets keep moisture out of the display, which maintains the freshness and preserves the food. They are equipped with interior LED lights for optimum visibility, making them essential to bakeries and cafes. The temperature of these units ranges from 30°C to 65°C only for Hot, they can be Ambient or Cold.

These pastry cabinets have glass fronts and are sometimes also equipped with double-layered panes that not only offer added protection to the cakes but also increase the energy efficiency of the units while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the dessert items. 

Do not be worried if you have a small cafe and limited spacing issues. Commercial refrigerators include vertical pastry cabinets as well. These refrigerators are compact and are installed with numerous shelves. Some models also include a 360-degree rotation design to offer an appealing view to consumers.

• Refrigerated Prep Tables

Refrigerated prep tables are essential to certain commercial food businesses, like pizza parlors, sandwich shops, delis, and other food service establishments. The two main variants are sandwich and pizza prep tables. Some of these prep tables feature cold storage compartments on top, while some have these storage units inside the table to store ingredients and keep ingredients prepared and ready to be used. The temperature range for these units ranges from 2°C to 8C.

Choose a commercial that’s right for you and your business needs. Then, to ensure you get what you desire, we at Elanpro are just a call away. Reach out to us for any and every refrigeration query about our extensive range of products and services.