Restaurant Refrigeration: Repair, Installation and Maintenance

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A restaurant runs on cold equipment. When a walk-in, a prep rail or the ice machine fails in the middle of service, you lose product, time and sometimes the day. Cool Aid Air Conditioning & Refrigeration has repaired, installed and maintained restaurant refrigeration in the Bay Area since 1966, with C-38 licensed refrigeration technicians, EPA certified refrigerant handling and a 1-year parts and labor warranty on every job.

Restaurant refrigeration guides

• Restaurant walk-insPlanning, repairing or replacing the walk-in that runs your kitchen.
• Bar refrigerationBack bar and bottle coolers, keg coolers, underbar units and bar ice.

Every piece of cold equipment in your restaurant

• Walk-in coolers and freezers. The heart of the kitchen. Walk-in cooler repair, walk-in freezer repair, and new boxes through walk-in cooler installation and walk-in freezer installation.
• Reach-ins and undercounters. The line's working storage. Reach-in cooler and freezer repair, including factory-authorized service for True, Traulsen and Turbo Air.
• Prep tables and chef bases. Sandwich, pizza and salad rails. Prep table refrigerator repair.
• Bar refrigeration. Back bar and bottle coolers, keg coolers and underbar units. See bar refrigeration.
• Ice machines. Factory-authorized for Manitowoc, Hoshizaki and Scotsman. See commercial ice machine repair.
• Display and beverage coolers. Pastry cases, grab-and-go and drink merchandisers. Glass door merchandiser repair.
• Condensing units. The rooftop or back-alley half of your walk-ins. Condensing unit replacement.

The rules your refrigeration has to meet

County inspectors check refrigeration against the California Retail Food Code. The parts that depend on your equipment:

• Cold holding at 41°F or below for potentially hazardous food (HSC 113996).
• A thermometer in every refrigeration unit, in its warmest part and easy to read (HSC 114157).
• Frozen food kept frozen (HSC 114018).
• Ice is food (HSC 113781), and ice machines must be cleaned at the manufacturer's frequency (HSC 114117).
• Walk-ins and ice machines drain through an air gap into a floor sink (HSC 114193).

Our health inspection refrigeration checklist turns these into daily and weekly checks.

When something fails during service

Keep doors shut, check thermometers and write down times and temperatures. Move the most sensitive product first. The refrigeration emergency checklist covers the first hour, and food safety when refrigeration fails covers what to keep and what to discard under county guidance. Then call 1-800-266-5243.

Maintenance built around a kitchen

Kitchens are hard on refrigeration: heat, grease and doors that never stop opening. Manufacturers call for condenser cleaning anywhere from every 90 days (Turbo Air reach-ins) to every six months (Heatcraft condensing units, Manitowoc ice machines) (Turbo Air) (Heatcraft) (Manitowoc), and greasy kitchens need the short end. Norlake recommends quarterly walk-in maintenance by a certified technician (Norlake). Our maintenance plans follow those schedules, and our maintenance schedule guide lists what staff can do between visits.

Replacing equipment? Check the rebates

The California Foodservice Instant Rebates program takes $50 to $100 off qualifying glass or solid door refrigerators and freezers, $75 to $500 off qualifying ice machines and $150 off refrigerated chef bases at participating dealers, while funds last (program flyer). PG&E's Simplified Savings program offers eligible small businesses no-cost walk-in door closers and gasket and coil cleaning (PG&E). See lowering refrigeration energy costs.

Restaurant and food service work

• Project photo coming soon

  Taco Bell, downtown San Jose

  Walk-in cooler repair after the cooler failed during peak hours, preventing food loss.

• Project photo coming soon

  Lotus Thai, San Jose

  Preventive maintenance and emergency repair for HVAC and refrigeration.

• Project photo coming soon

  Bowlero

  Commercial refrigeration installation for the Bowlero bowling and entertainment center.

Business and hotel names are trademarks of their owners. They are used only to identify properties where Cool Aid has done refrigeration work, and do not imply endorsement.

We also cover hotel kitchens, liquor stores and convenience stores. See all of it under refrigeration by industry, or our restaurant HVAC and refrigeration in San Jose page.

Get restaurant refrigeration service →

Frequently asked questions

Written and reviewed by Jim McKinny, owner of Cool Aid Air Conditioning & Refrigeration — California C-20 and C-38 licensed, EPA Universal certified, second generation of a family business serving the Bay Area since 1966. Every job we complete is backed by our 1-year parts & labor warranty.