How do you choose the best upright fridge for a compact kitchen?

You’ve found an upright fridge that fits the gap in your kitchen. But will it still fit once someone opens the door?

The door might block a walkway, clash with a cupboard or force a member of staff to stand in someone else’s working area. The fridge might fit in its final position but fail to get through the kitchen entrance. It may offer plenty of capacity, yet make the products your team needs difficult to reach.

Choosing an upright fridge for a compact commercial kitchen isn’t just about finding a small cabinet. You need one that supports the way your kitchen works.

On this page, we explain how to choose the best upright fridge when you’re working with a smaller kitchen.

The first consideration: your fridge’s job

Before you compare dimensions, decide what you need your fridge to do. List the stock the fridge will hold and how often your team will access it.

Will it hold bulk deliveries and backup stock, or will your team open it throughout service? Your answer will shape the type of fridge you need and where you position it.

You could position a storage fridge away from the main preparation area if staff only need to visit it a few times each day. However, a service fridge needs to sit closer to the prep or service areas.

That said, you might find that you get better results from using a solid-door upright fridge for storage and keeping the day’s working stock in an undercounter or prep fridge.

Fit the fridge into your workflow

Watch your team during a busy period. Note who uses the fridge, what they take from it, and where they carry those products next. You may find that it makes more sense to rearrange your prep area and place the fridge there rather than use the largest space currently available.

Your new fridge shouldn’t interrupt the routes your staff use between preparation areas, cooking equipment, sinks, storage and the pass.

When someone stands in front of the cabinet, especially with the door open, can others pass? Can they move behind them or take an alternative route without getting in someone else’s way? Worse, will staff carrying hot pans, knives or heavy containers need to squeeze past?

Larger kitchens have a little more freedom in this regard. However, these details affect your decision more in a compact kitchen because you have less room to work around a poor layout.

Measure the open fridge

Check both the external and internal dimensions. The external measurements show how much space and vertical clearance the cabinet needs, while the internal measurements help you confirm that your containers and stock will fit.

Measure how much space you need to position the unit. However, you should also account for the open door, handle, hinges, ventilation clearances and the person standing in front of it. Check nearby cupboard doors, drawers, equipment panels and preparation tables.

Don’t assume the cabinet width tells you the full door-opening clearance. Check the technical drawing or ask the supplier how much space the open door requires.

Width often gets the most attention, but depth and height can create just as many problems. Your kitchen may have height restrictions, such as ventilation fans on the ceiling. A narrow fridge may project further into the kitchen than a wider, shallower model. In a tight passage, the shallower cabinet may give your team more usable space.

Mark the cabinet and door swing on the floor with masking tape. Then ask staff to move through the kitchen as they would during service. You’ll spot clashes and bottlenecks before you commit to the purchase.

Put the hinges on the right side

You should be able to open your new fridge without blocking the main walkway or stepping around the door to reach the shelves. It shouldn’t obstruct the pass, a fire exit, the sink, another appliance or a cupboard your team uses throughout the day.

Check the hinge position before ordering. Some commercial fridges let you reverse the door, but you can’t assume every model does. You may also need extra parts or an engineer to make the change.

Make sure we can deliver it

The route to your compact kitchen may include narrow doors, corridors or corners. Can our team get the cabinet into position?

Check and measure external and internal doorways, corridors, corners, stairs, ramps, lifts, thresholds and low ceilings. Include any tight turns where the delivery team may need to rotate the cabinet.

You’ll notice the packed dimensions on each product page, too. For delivery, this is what you have to work with. Packaging and pallets can add enough width or height to stop a fridge passing through a doorway. Check the weight as well, particularly if the route includes stairs or uneven ground.

In short, confirm the delivery arrangements before you order. In shared or managed premises, check whether you need to reserve a lift, loading bay or delivery entrance.

Choose storage your team can use

Don’t judge an upright fridge by its litre capacity alone. A higher-capacity unit won’t necessarily provide more usable storage. Check the number of shelf positions, how many adjustable shelves you get, and the space taken up by refrigeration components. Then compare the internal layout with the containers your kitchen uses.

For instance, do you store Gastronorm pans, ingredient tubs, produce crates, trays, bottles, cartons or large cuts of meat? You might find that a smaller fridge comes with a more suitable layout.

You should also check the shelf load limits. Bottles, dense ingredients and full food containers can place a lot of weight on each shelf.

Finally, avoid buying more capacity than your team can organise. A packed fridge slows staff down when they have to remove several items to reach the product at the back. Straightforward access is usually more important than being able to fit everything in.

Account for the heat around it

Compact kitchens can become hot, particularly near ovens, grills, fryers, dishwashers and cooking lines.

Check the fridge’s climate class and maximum ambient temperature. A cabinet designed for a cooler storeroom may struggle if you place it beside heat-producing equipment.

Keep the fridge away from direct heat where possible and leave the ventilation space required by the manufacturer.

Don’t assume that squeezing it tightly between two units makes good use of the space. Restricted airflow can make the refrigeration system work harder and may affect temperature control.

Also check where the fridge releases heat and where its ventilation openings are located. You don’t want it adding more heat to a workstation where staff spend much of the day.

Leave room to clean and maintain it

You’ll need to clean around, behind and beneath the fridge. Engineers may also need access to the condenser, controls, drainage system or refrigeration components.

After installation, will you be able to pull the cabinet forward without moving several other appliances? Look at the position of the plug and make sure your staff can reach it without climbing over equipment.

Castors help you move the fridge for cleaning and maintenance, provided there’s enough space to pull it out. Adjustable feet may suit a fixed installation or an uneven floor.

Whichever arrangement you choose, make sure the fridge stays level and stable when staff open the door while the cabinet is fully loaded.

Look beyond the purchase price

Your fridge will run every day, so compare running costs as well as the purchase price. You’ll find the stated energy-consumption figures under ‘Power and Consumption’ on the product page. Look for the daily or annual consumption in kWh.

Use the energy data to compare models that perform a similar job. A smaller fridge won’t always use less energy, and a lower-cost model may cost more to run over its working life.

Your layout also affects energy use. Staff will leave the door open longer if they can’t find products or have to move items around. 

Choose for the kitchen you run

So, although the narrowest upright fridge might be the most tempting, it’s not necessarily the best option for your compact kitchen.

If you could use expert advice, get in touch with our team here at Fridgesmart. We’ll help you assess your space and workflow to identify the most practical and cost-effective refrigeration setup, whether that’s a narrow upright or a combination of upright fridges, undercounter units and preparation fridges.

With nearly 50 years’ experience supplying commercial refrigeration, we can help you compare the options and choose equipment that fits both your kitchen and the way your team works. Explore our range of commercial upright fridges or contact us to discuss your requirements.