The Memphis Ice Guide to Commercial Kitchen Refrigeration

Cleanliness is next to godliness—most of the head chefs we know agree! Besides an immaculate floor for your Friday evening guests, a clean, functional, and safe kitchen behind the scenes is equally important for restaurants.

High-quality refrigeration is a must for any food service, hospitality, or healthcare business of any size. Besides simply keeping your goods icy cold, reliable refrigeration equipment prevents foodborne illnesses from contaminating your customer’s food. Just like the unique dishes you offer at your restaurant, your kitchen requires unique units that meet your needs. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to commercial kitchen refrigeration.

Best for storing: Bottled and canned beverages, dairy, pre-packaged goods
Most commonly found in: Convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, offices

Chef bases are the heart and soul of the kitchen that efficiently streamlines a chef’s order of operations from top to bottom. Everyone benefits from a functioning and effective Chef Base. These heavy-duty units work as fridges, freezers, and workstations. 

Chef Bases come standard with marine edges, a helpful feature that stops spills before they turn into bigger problems. Nobody likes cleaning sticky floors and liquids off the sides of equipment. A Chef Base means you never have to do that again. 

Learn more about our selection of  Chef Base here: Chef Base Spec Sheet.

Best for storing: Bottled and canned beverages, dairy, pre-packaged goods
Most commonly found in: Convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, offices

Glass door refrigerators are ideal for business owners looking to offer a grab-and-go option for customers. Clean, clear, and efficient. You just can’t get any better than that. 

Our selection features a coated steel interior and exterior with double pane glass doors. Inside, vertical fluorescent lighting illuminates offerings for customers. In addition, this piece of equipment has adjustable legs for leveling. A refrigerator with glass doors gives customers what they want when they want it. 

Considerations: When shopping for a glass door merchandiser, keep in mind the product’s placement in your own business. This helps you choose between two-door styles: sliding or single swing. If you require multiple glass door refrigerators, purchase all sliding doors to maximize space in aisles for your customers.

For more information about our glass door options, follow the links below:

• Sliding Glass Door Refrigerator Spec Sheet
• Single Swing Glass Door Refrigerator Spec Sheet

Glass Door Freezers

Best for storing: Frozen goods
Most commonly found in: Convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores

Glass door freezers are optimal for providing a self-serve approach for customers. Just like the glass door refrigerator, this equipment features a coated steel interior and exterior, vertical fluorescent lighting, and adjustable legs for leveling. It’s the best option to keep customers happy and products frozen.

At Memphis Ice Machine Company, we offer four different types of glass door freezers for commercial use. For more information, follow the link below:

• Glass Door Merchandisers Freezers Spec Sheet

Best for storing: Sandwich and salad prep ingredients
Most commonly found in: Delis, restaurants, cafeterias

In the heat of a busy restaurant rush, the sandwich and salad prep tables keep your kitchen cool under pressure. They offer quick, safe, and easy access to the ingredients you need most. Our selection of sandwich and salad prep tables offers three different door options, allowing for total kitchen customization. Boost efficiency and minimize mess with the best sandwich and salad prep tables around. 

 View your options from  Memphis Ice Machine Company here:

• Top Sandwich Prep Table Spec Sheet 
• Side Mount Sandwich Prep Table Spec Sheet 
• Open Top Prep Table Spec Sheet 

Pizza Prep Tables

Best for storing: Pizza prep ingredients
Most commonly found in: Delis, restaurants

Pizza prep tables are very similar to sandwich prep tables; however, pizza prep tables feature larger pans and deeper cutting boards specifically for preparing delicious pizzas.

Learn about the four pizza prep tables to choose from: Pizza Prep Table Spec Sheet.

Best for storing: Beverages, cold ingredients
Most commonly found in: Bars, healthcare, hotels, restaurants, offices

Undercounter refrigerators are ideal for cold storage in compact spaces. Single units are often found in break rooms, hospitals, and hotel rooms. Bigger undercounter units that feature two and three doors are very common add-ons in commercial kitchens. More space, more storage!

Considerations: Before making the right choice, measure the height of your counter. In order to meet ADA compliance, undercounter refrigerators must be 32 inches tall in order to fit under a 34-inch counter. Purchase the correct undercounter refrigerator that’s as useful as it is compliant. 

For more information about the undercounter refrigerators and freezers available for purchase, please click the links below:

• Undercounter Refrigerator Spec Sheet
• Undercounter Freezer Spec Sheet

Best for storing: Cooked products, dairy, fish, frozen goods, raw meats, perishable goods
Most commonly found in: Restaurants, grocery stores

This is the industrial, supercharged version of the refrigerator most of us have at home. These reach-in refrigerators and freezers provide easy access to the items that you need while allowing you to store what you need vertically, saving space in the commercial kitchen. 

Considerations: When choosing a reach-in refrigerator or freezer, it’s important to buy a unit with a compressor unit located in an optimal place depending on where it will be physically located in your operation. 

Hot working environments with fluctuating temperatures would be best to have a unit with a bottom-mounted unit, so that grease and oil are not sucked into the machine. If your unit is placed in a cold and ideal environment, a top compressor is recommended because it decreases the risk of dust and other debris clogging the coils.

At Memphis Ice Machine Company, our products have self-contained condensing units located at the top of the cabinet for high performance. In addition, an oversized condenser and evaporator coils quickly achieve and maintain desired temperatures to keep your machine working at an optimal temperature.

For information on the wide variety of upright units we offer, please click on the links below:

• Upright Refrigerator Spec Sheet
• Upright Freezer Spec Sheet