What types of refrigeration does a Café need? A complete guide to Café refrigerators.
- Start Right Retail
- Oct 22, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2024
Running a successful café requires careful planning in a variety of areas. One of the most expensive categories of set up costs are refrigeration equipment. Understanding your refrigeration needs is very important. You don’t want to over spend on goods and equipment, but you don’t want to be left short either and reduce your capacity to serve customers.
From storing milk for your coffees to keeping ingredients fresh in the kitchen, This comprehensive guide will help you understand exactly what refrigeration equipment your café needs. We will first discuss the different types of refrigeration that a café needs, and then discuss how you can calculate the amount of refrigeration space you will need.
Essential Types of Café refrigerators:
Reach-in-Refrigerators (Storage Refrigerators)
These Fridges are the workhorses of café refrigeration. They are typically kept in the back-of-house and serve as your main storage solution. Available sizes include:
Small: 580 liters
Medium: 1,110 liters
Large: 1,250 liters
Extra Large: 1,950 liters
Price Range: $1,000 - $10,000, £770 - £7,700, €925 - €9,250
Key Consideration: Since these run 24/7, prioritize energy efficiency – premium brands often offer better long-term value through reduced electricity costs.
Under-Counter Refrigerators
These are compact refrigerators which fit beneath counters and work surfaces. These are great in a small kitchen, and also out front - they’re commonly used to store milk and milk alternatives in easy reach for baristas. A small to medium sized café will generally have one to four under-counter refrigerators up front. Another advantage of under-counter refrigerators is that they are great space savers in a small kitchen or small premises.
Price Range: $325 - $700 / £250 - £540 / €300 - €650
Key Consideration: It sounds obvious, but make sure your under-counter refrigerators are small enough to fit in the space under your counter.
Upright Coolers
These are a form of fridge ideal for beverages. They keep drinks cool, but are not as cold as regular fridges, therefore using less energy. They are often placed in customer areas for customers to grab drinks. They come in a variety of sizes, from quite small, which would be suitable for a small café, to quite large, which can be suitable for a very busy café.
Price Range: $714 - $2,725 / £550 - £2,100 / €660 - €2,524
Key Consideration: Location is crucial - place these on the customers path to the counter, or at the counter.
Standing Refrigerated Displays (Refrigerated Shelves)
These are a type of standing cooler placed in customer areas from which they can grab drinks, snacks, sandwiches etc. These like upright coolers, keep their contents cool, but not as cold as a regular refrigerator, again saving money, but also keeping their contents at an appropriate temperature. The primary difference with upright coolers is that they do not have a door, making them more convenient for customers to grab items - and thus more likely to make purchases - but also makes them a little less energy efficient. Some of these are quite small, perhaps 3 and half feet tall, while others can be twice the size. The right choice will depend on the size and busyness of your café.
Price Range: $520 - $3,150 / £400 - £2,400 / €480 - €2,900
Key Consideration: placement matters - not just in terms of maximising customer purchases but also because these open units perform poorly when placed near entrances or in direct sunlight.
On-Counter Refrigerated Displays
For a Café these can be a great way to showcase snacks like pastries and sandwiches and tempt purchases. They keep contents cool and fresh but not cold like a standard fridge. You can also opt for non-refrigerated on counter displays, but these will not keep your offerings as fresh.
Price Range: $520 - $840 / £400 - £650 / €480 - €780
Key Considerations: A well lit display - some models come with built in lighting - can be a great way to make your fare even more attractive.
What Freezers will your café need?
1. No Freezer. It's possible that you can avoid buying and running a freezer at all. If you are a small café not serving food, or you serve food but get your ingredients delivered fresh frequently and dependably, you may not need a freezer of any kind. As in every other category of expenditure, as a small business owner, you should seek to cut out what is not necessary.
2. Reach in Freezers. Reach in freezers are standing freezers, convenient for frequent use in a kitchen. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small units which can conveniently fit under-counter, to very large three door units best suited to very large operations. A small freezer (93 Liters) might be sufficient for a small café not preparing food start at a price of around $250 / £200 / €240. Large commercial reach in freezers necessary for running a kitchen start around $1,040 / £800 / €960 (600L) and proceed towards $2,000 - $2,500 / £1,600 - £2,000 / €1,900 - €2,400 for very large models (900 - 1200 Liters). These are a lot more convenient for frequent use than our next option, chest freezers.
3. Chest Freezers.
These are large, top-opening freezers designed to store large quantities of frozen items, typically used for bulk and long-term storage. Chest freezers are energy efficient and offer more storage space for bulkier goods so are ideal for a café with a substantial kitchen and preparation menu. They are less convenient to use than reach in freezers, making them best for storing large amounts of frozen items, like large cuts of meat, that don’t need to be retrieved often. Sizes start around 280 litres, and proceed to well over double the size at 650 litres, with a range of options in-between. Prices start around $370 / £290 / €350 for small units up to around $1,600 / £1,250 / €1,500 for the largest, top of the range models.
Calculating Refrigeration Needs in your café.
Now we have explored the types of different types of refrigerators, we can explore the question of calculating how much refrigeration space a café needs.
1. Understand your Menu - The types and quantities of perishable items you need will determine your refrigeration needs. If you are preparing food in a kitchen you will need a lot more refrigeration space than if you are not.
Break down each item of your menu into its constituent parts - what ingredients go into it, and how much of that ingredient. Multiply by the amount of that item you expect to sell between deliveries. Add on a margin of safety because goods won't fit in 1:1 in litres to litres in Fridges, i.e. vegetables don't come in regular 1 litre shapes. Consider also wastage, and excess capacity.
This is painful work, but if you want to get this right, you need to do it.
2. Delivery Schedule - are you getting your foods fresh daily, or weekly? You will need enough storage to keep your produce fresh until your next delivery, so delivery schedules will directly impact your storage needs. It makes sense to add an extra 10-20% capacity for delivery delays or unexpected needs.
For goods that are delivered daily you will need one day worth of storage. Twice weekly means you will need 4 - 5 days worth of storage. Weekly will require 7 - 9 days worth of storage.
3. Map out your temperature zones - There are different categories of perishable goods, that require different types of refrigeration.
Standard refrigeration (33-40°F/1-4°C)
Freezer space (-0.4-0°F/-18°C)
Display case cooling (36-40°F/2-4°C)
Preparation area refrigeration (40°F/4°C)
After you break down your quantities of ingredients, plan what will be stored where, what will you need for different types of
4. Plan for future Growth - Following the above three steps will give you a solid idea of your current needs, but you should also consider your future needs. As your café establishes yourself and you develop a loyal recurring customer base etc. you will be serving more customers. Plan to be able to meet the needs of your café at this point, not your initial service levels.
5. Leasing Commercial Refrigeration Equipment - It is very difficult - even when you put the effort in - to predict in advance what your levels of sales will be how much food you will sell, what items will be the most popular, though you can make good estimates. A way to find out in practice exactly what you need is to lease some of your refrigeration equipment. This will allow you to see what is too big, too small, or appropriate. You can then make purchasing decisions latter based on what you have discovered. An added benefit of leasing is that it will lessen the capital required for your initial investment in setting up.