Choosing Food Lockers for Restaurants
With the rise of third-party delivery apps and online ordering, restaurants traditionally had orders sitting on countertops for people to pick up. While most food is time-sensitive, orders could potentially sit for long periods and lose its quality. Food lockers and shelves can be installed to prevent food from spoiling while customers are on their way to pick up their order. By installing food lockers and shelves, restaurants can help keep customers satisfied with your business and boost your reputation. Below, we'll go over what food lockers for restaurants are and how they promote a positive image for your establishment.
What are Food Lockers?
Food lockers are designed to hold food while customers or delivery drivers are on their way to pick up their meal. These units may feature heated shelves or compartments that are adjustable in temperature to accommodate pizza, steak, and other hot food. Typically, food lockers are pass-through shelving units which allow staff to place customer's orders on the units from one side while customers can grab the food from the other side.
Types of Food Lockers
Heated holding shelves are a solution for operators who want to implement this storage into their restaurants. These units operate between 140 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and each shelf is individually controlled. With their ability to hold food for 30 minutes, heated holding shelves can hold a wide variety of food and are available in floor-mounted and countertop units.
Heated food lockers feature magnetic locking doors and LED lighting. Operating between 150 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit, these lockers can hold food for 45 minutes at a time or used as ambient storage. These are available in floor-mounted, wall-mounted, and countertop units and require users to have a code to open the compartments. Many food lockers also have self-closing doors and will close after 30 to 45 seconds to prevent heat from escaping.
Unheated food shelves are made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel which is ideal for high-volume use. These units come on casters so operators can move them around the restaurant if needed. Unheated food shelves are ideal for establishments that have a quick pick up rates, or restaurants offering food that doesn't need to be heated.
Operational Benefits of Food Lockers
From an operational standpoint, food lockers can increase online and app sales. Customers can simply put in their order through their chosen method and come pick it up without having to talk to staff, which enables staff to work without interruptions. People also may prefer to pick up their order this way when digitally ordering. Food lockers not only help prevent order mix ups and crowding in a potentially busy area in the restaurant, these units limit people touching food and hazardous conditions such as tripping and falling in crowded areas.
By implementing food lockers and shelves into a restaurant, operators experience many operational benefits:
- May experience an increase in digital sales
- Limits the amount of people touching the order
- Reduces crowding in busy areas
- Fewer customer mix ups
