Sky High
Stacked shelving makes the most of available kitchen space
By Shari Goldhagen, Special to R&I -- Restaurants & Institutions, 6/1/2004
Table finish, linen thread count, mood lighting, artwork, flatware. When it comes to opening a restaurant, operators often consider everything in the dining room without giving enough thought to the aesthetics of the kitchen.
This is exactly why the newly remodeled Josephs restaurant (formerly Citarella) in New York City involved Executive Chef Brian Bistrong in the kitchen design.
“We have approximately 700 square feet, so it’s a large space,” he says. “We also have decent vertical height, and we took advantage of that for storage and utility.”
Installing floor-to-ceiling custom cabinets and shelves allowed for maximum use of space. Everything was fashioned from heavy-duty stainless steel for easy cleaning.
|
Taking into account the operation’s extensive menu, the kitchen was divided into stations—pastry, gourmet, fish, meat and a posting area where food is plated. Each station was created with specific food-storage needs in mind—sliding drawers and trays sized by the ingredients used at each station.
“We took a lot of time designing our walk-in cooler,” Bistrong says. “Mushrooms, for instance, are very important to us. Most restaurants just keep them in plastic storage containers, where they can get gummy, but we found storage racks that hold sliding sheet pans. It allows our mushrooms to stay fresh and in good condition.”
Small Can Be Spacious
Lil’ Frankie’s Big Cheech Italian restaurant operates
in a space a fraction of Joseph’s size, and Owner Frank
Prisinzano modeled the kitchen on a similarly scaled-down budget.
Still, he involved prep-line employees in the kitchen design.
“Frank has worked in kitchens his whole life, so he knows what makes things the most functional, and he listens to what his cooks say,” says General Manager Julian Vasquez. “He really designed the new space based on his needs, food-wise.”
Because they operate in tight quarters, Vasquez says the staff made accommodations mostly for dry ingredients, ordering produce on a daily basis.
“For ingredients that have a bit of shelf life, we took advantage of every inch,” he says. “We use shelving that’s adjustable to accommodate larger items, and we secure units to walls so they can reach the ceilings.”
New York City health codes prevent operators from storing anything on the floor, so Lil’ Frankie’s uses mobile shelving that slides underneath butcher-block tables and other counter space.
“Every kitchen is different,” Vas-quez says. “With this new place we have a little more room to work, but we took advantage of the things we learned working with a teeny, tiny place.”
Operators who got too caught up in china patterns to do storage right the first time need not panic, says Joe Schodowski, owner of a Pennsylvania-based shelving and storage company.
“In the foodservice business, there’s a saying, ‘You look up and look down,’ ” he says. “What that means is look up to determine if you can build your shelves higher, mount things to the walls, take advantage of a raised ceiling. Also you should look down. If you have a counter or a table, can you be making more use of the space underneath with low-rise shelving?”
Flex Factors
Acknowledging that operator needs can change while small spaces
may remain the same, Schodowski advises first-time clients to
buy systems that can grow with business. Consider shelving that
can be expanded with additional levels, and always opt for taller,
wall-mounted units.
Retailers also can install sliding tracks and mobile-shelving units, which allow operators to make maximum use of wall space while maintaining aisles, Schodowski says.
Jerry Buza, marketing manager with another major shelving and storage company, says shelving solutions don’t have to cost a fortune.
“There are things that you can change to increase existing space,” he says. “It might be something as simple as changing containers to durable plastic bins with lids. That way you create extra shelving by stacking things in the refrigerator.”
Buza also recommends changing from round to square containers, a difference that creates up to 33% more space.
“Shelving racks are going to be square or rectangular,” he says. “If you’re using round containers, you can’t put them flush against each other.”
Shari Goldhagen is a New York City-based freelance writer.
View All Blogs
