Are open-case coolers (& some freezers) at or nearing extinction?

[daveamkrayoguy]

Heard the sound of power tools and/or came to work at the grocery I work at to notice this dramatic difference…

Refrigerated (& some frozen) once opened for filling of and access to products now have swinging or sliding doors…

An advantage in keeping our wares fresh and cold, not to mention energy saving and clearly protecting during a power outage but the store area’s become sweltering hot…!

— Dave

 

[wayupnorth]

Yes Dave, they are all changing to this type. Stores around me all have them. Years ago stores made cardboard panels to fit over those freezers for the night when closed. Much more energy efficient and who cares to just open a glass door to get what they need.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I never remember the upright freezer cases not having doors. The big top loading cases did not have covers because the cold air sinks, although admittedly more humidity entered them and packages of frozen foods used to have a coating of frost. The latest trend in energy efficiency I have seen at Harris Teeter is motion activated LED lights in the cases so as you walk by they light up.

 

[DADoES]

 
Local HEB and WM both have vertical coolers without doors for eggs, luncheon meats and sausage, cheese, and deli items.  Milk coolers have doors.

WM switched to motion-activated lighting in a few freezers for a short time.  There apparently were complaints as that was quickly changed.

 

[mattl]

Local stores have doors on everything - frozen, dairy and even  bagged produce.  Some even have doors on meat. All have motion lights.  i don't mind it, but has to make stocking more difficult.

 

[luxflairguy]

Here in Wilmington only Walmart doesn't have doors except for the milk section. You walk from sports section at one end of the store toward the food end and you get hit by how much colder it is in that section due to the lack of doors!

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Yes that's the thing that I immediately miss and perhaps why our customers just want to buy what they have to buy and spend what they're going to spend just to get out of there...

We have ceiling fans which don't even seem to do as good keeping the place cool as they should...

It's always been extremely hot and stuffy upstairs and with that "change" to me it's gotten so much more so...

Can't wait for it to become cold and colder out...

-- Dave

 

[tomturbomatic]

At several stores in our area there are vents that blast the warm air from the refrigeration condensers down into the aisles between the open top load refrigerated cases in the meat department.

 

[joeekaitis]

At the local ALDI, . . .

 

. . . the chilled produce display is open-front.  Dairy, deli and freezer cases have doors.  Upright doors have spring-loaded closers.  Chest freezers have sliding doors that slowly slide shut on their own if a customer leaves one open.

 

[petek]

Most of the newer and or refurbished stores here now have doors on all or most of the refrigerated cases. The open top island bunkers seem to be fazing out as well. The smaller footprint store near us, built arounnd 1960, just did all his frozen foods with doors but the dairy wall is still open. I've gotten bad milk there a few times because whoever stocks those shelves sometimes overloads the bottom shelf which blocks the "curtain" of cold air that blows out the top and down over it. I mentioned it to the store manager who is a franchisee of the chain but haven't seen any improvement. His loss because I return it for a refund and rarely buy milk there now.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I noticed in the late 70s that the 2% milk in half gallon plastic jugs which they switched to from the cardboard cartons seemed to get an off taste after a few days. I found out that the plastic allowed the rays from the fluorescent lights in the dairy case to penetrate to the milk. I wound up buying a freezer mainly for the milk so that I did not have to go to the store several times a week. That was back when the cases used the curtain of cold air instead of doors.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well our cheese shop has open bunkers around the counter, while here’s a case behind with mostly dips and deli-type items once open but battling an opening & closing entrance/exit beside it…

So it now conforms, but I was late adding…

— Dave