In the refrigeration and cold chain industries, portable and versatile retail coolers are incredibly important.

 

You see them in all sorts of businesses, from big fancy restaurants to small corner stores. They are the front line of preserving perishable food and drinks for a busy customer audience. They come in many different shapes and sizes, with attractive and functional features, and the merchants who depend on them know how much value they provide. 

 

So let’s talk a little bit about the role that they play in commercial refrigeration. These coolers have to be working well to be effective. Sealing can be an issue: so can power generation and the actual cooling technology housed inside. What else is important with free-standing retail coolers?

 

Easy-To-Use Restaurant and Food Service Coolers

 

One thing about retail coolers is that they are easy to stock, and so they can be a very useful part of operations when a new shipment comes in.

 

Unlike with some larger walk-ins, retail coolers can be filled by entry-level staff with no particular skill in refrigeration, or ability to use tools like pallet jacks or forklifts. Then when the materials are in there, they are all ready for retail sale.

 

So that eliminates some of the more labor-intensive processes in some forms of commercial refrigeration. A utility cooler can double as a (mini) walk-in, to some extent, as long as it is working well. A surprising amount of inventory can be held safely out of the HACCP “danger zone” (refrigerated for food safety) . 

 

Display

 

Utility coolers also help to display items to the public. We know this intuitively when we see them used by big corporate franchise models, but even smaller mom and pop shops can take advantage of these benefits. 

 

Many of these coolers have specialized styled and colorized display headers that can be used to make what’s inside more attractive to customers. Some merchants take advantage of this, and some don’t. The ones that do will often see increased sales.

 

Maintenance and Repair

 

What all of these fixtures have in common is that they need to be in good condition to provide value. Around Houston and the surrounding area, Polar Refrigeration works with these, as well as air conditioners, ice machines and other installations, to make everything look good and keep your business humming along. Ask us what we can do for you! Does your business need a quick, responsive service for a one-time fix? Would you like to streamline operational maintenance by having a service plan? Let’s talk about your needs and how to bets support your business. We are knowledgeable and we operate with integrity to add comfort, not stress, to our busy customer’s plate. Get the best professional assistance to have more confidence in serving your own customers, day in and day out.