Commercial Kitchen Storage Tips

Unless you are a multimillionaire owner of a seven star hotel chain, you are likely to be troubled by lack of storage-space in your commercial kitchen. Commercial kitchens, small or big, are high traffic areas where the staff is constantly moving, sometimes along with equipment, food and utensils in their hands. In order to ensure safety, comfort and efficiency, sufficient availability of space is extremely important in commercial kitchens.
Unfortunately, large spaces just don’t fit under every restaurant owner’s budget. Fortunately, however, you can overcome your space issue by optimizing your commercial kitchen storage. Here are a few useful tips to help you efficiently manage your kitchen storage and utilize the available space.

• Walls Must Not Be Wasted – No matter how small your kitchen is, it is very likely to have at least three walls. Take a look at one of the walls and tell us what you see? Well, you see a 12 feet high storage space. While half of that wall might be hiding behind preparation counters and appliances, there is plenty of area above them to place wall shelves, hooks and hangers. If there is enough free space on the lower side of the wall, you can use it by a dunnage rack to store heavy sacks and gallons.
• Avoid the Wired Mess – Restaurant staff are often troubled by electrical leads and cables trailing across the kitchen. Make sure you have installed enough sockets and switch boards to reduce this mess. Electrical appliances must be placed closer to sockets and use proper hooks or equipment to hide cords. This is not only aesthetically pleasing but also extremely safe for a place where fire and water are constantly on.
• Go Underground – While FDA prohibits storage of food items below a certain level, not all the items you need to store in the kitchen are used as, or for, food. There are a number of well planned restaurants that make wise usage of underground storage units to keep items that are not frequently required. This may include extra table clothes or cleaning products.
• Create an Illusion – If your commercial kitchen is not as spacious as you want it to be, you can at least make it appear as if it is. Only a few aesthetical changes in your kitchen can give it an impression of being larger than it actually is. The best part is, that doesn’t even require a professional interior designer. For starters, lighting and a color theme that properly reflect light can create a miraculous illusion.

While these tips will help you overcome your space issue, make sure you don’t overstuff your commercial kitchen with more than it is designed to bear. It can ultimately trash all your efforts and can pose a serious safety threat to your staff and customers.