Opening a restaurant in Miami: a refrigeration and inspection checklist

Plan review comes before equipment

Public food service establishments in Florida are licensed and inspected by the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants, and new restaurants and significant renovations go through its plan review. Your equipment schedule, including every walk-in, reach-in, prep table and ice machine, is part of what gets reviewed, so the refrigeration plan should be settled before you sign purchase orders. Changing equipment after approval can mean more paperwork and delay.

Size cold storage to the menu

Cold storage needs follow the menu and the delivery schedule, not the floor plan. A restaurant that receives produce and protein twice a week needs more walk-in space than one with daily deliveries. Separate cooler and freezer space, room for proper shelving and air circulation, and reach-ins at each station keep the walk-in door from being opened all day. Undersized refrigeration is the most common problem we see in new kitchens, and it shows up on the first busy weekend.

Install with time to spare

Walk-in coolers need panels, refrigeration, drains and door heaters installed and tested, and remote condensing units need roof or pad space, line runs and electrical. Reach-ins and prep tables need clearance for condenser airflow, especially beside cooking lines. Ice machines need water filtration, a drain with an air gap and room to reject heat.

Plan for each piece to be running at least several days before the inspection, so temperatures are stable, defrost cycles are set and any early failures happen before opening night rather than during it.

41 degrees is the line

Florida's food code requires cold time and temperature control for safety foods to be held at 41 degrees or below, and cold holding above that is listed as a high-priority violation on inspection reports. Every refrigerator and walk-in needs an accurate thermometer, and staff need the habit of checking and logging. During setup we pull each box down, verify the temperature in its warmest spot and give you the readings.

Do not forget the air side

Kitchen exhaust hoods pull a lot of air out of the building, and make-up air units bring it back in. Without enough make-up air, doors whistle, hoods underperform and the dining room AC fights a constant flow of hot, humid outdoor air. Rooftop units over the dining room need to be sized for the crowd and the kitchen heat that leaks in. These are permitted mechanical items too, and they belong on the same timeline as the refrigeration.