How Food Trucks and Restaurants Benefit from Storage Units in Oklahoma

Anyone who has worked in the food and beverage industry knows that in order to build, maintain, and grow a successful business, location is everything. Unfortunately, some of the best locations come with a high price per square foot and are often still short on space. You want to devote as much floor space to your customers as possible, which means you probably have less space than you might like for bars, kitchens, prep areas, offices, and stock rooms. When it comes to extra storage space for necessities, Oklahoma storage units for restaurants and other food and beverage service businesses can be a lifesaver.

How can storage units in Oklahoma help your restaurant, bar, food truck, or catering service? Some of the ways are obvious, but others might not leap as quickly to mind, so here are a few of the many benefits that self storage offers to those in the food and beverage industry:

Saves You Space. Space is always at a premium, and the best floorspace in your restaurant or bar should be dedicated to diners and patrons. Sure, you’ve probably got a little storage space in the back of the house, but it’s never enough. We’ve all seen the business office that’s stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes of disposable cups, cases of paper towels, to-go containers, and even canned goods, all threatening to fall on the shift manager as they’re trying to tally up the day’s receipts. Of course, this goes for caterers and food truck operators, too. Do you need tables, chairs, or decorations? Having someplace to put it all can be a real challenge without a little help from self storage, especially in a cramped food truck.

Saves You Time. It makes sense that it’s much easier to simply have things on hand so you’re not constantly running across town to a retailer or a food service supply store or waiting for something to be delivered from a supplier. But a well-organized storage unit is also more convenient than a cluttered back office in your own restaurant. It takes less time to run down to the storage unit than it does to dig to the bottom of that stack of boxes in the office, assuming you even remember what’s back there.

Saves You Money. Space always comes at a premium, and the best locations often have steep rents. Every square foot of space in your establishment is valuable and needs to be put to the best possible use, which usually means front-of-house space for customers and patrons, not to mention kitchen and food prep space. By comparison, storage units for restaurants and other businesses are available at a fraction of the cost and offer you more storage for your dollar. Leasing a typical 10’ x 20’ storage unit in Oklahoma runs approximately $200 per month, while a smaller 10’ x 10’ unit only costs about $100 per month. Compare that to the cost of your main business space per square foot, and the savings are probably substantial.

Saves You Even More Money. Sure, the storage space itself is more affordable, but by having more storage available, you can also put it to use for yourself in saving money other ways. With more storage space, you can buy in bulk when prices are low on commonly used items such as toilet paper, disposable gloves, bin liners, you name it—not to mention backups of vital items like cutlery, bar supplies, take-out packaging, glassware, linens and table covers, and so much more! You can even store a spare of key food prep items like mixers, slicers, and others, in case the one that you rely on every day breaks down.

Store Seasonal Items Off-Site. Many homeowners already know about the utility of Oklahoma storage units for keeping holiday decorations and other seasonal items out of sight and out of mind the rest of the year. Odds are, your restaurant or other establishment probably decorates for the holidays, and self storage can help you keep those decorations year-in and year-out, rather than buying new every time. Your storage unit is also perfect for other seasonal fixtures such as outdoor tables for the warmer months or patio heaters for the colder ones.

Store Unused Equipment. Sooner or later, you’re going to have something that you no longer use but that you aren’t quite ready to sell. Maybe your menu has changed, and you no longer need that commercial mixer, rotisserie oven, dough divider, meat slicer, and so on. If the change isn’t necessarily permanent, it’s cheaper to keep this equipment around than to sell it and have to re-buy if you need it again later. That’s where storage units for restaurants come in. Put it in self storage and get it out of the way of your day-to-day operations while still keeping it available if and when you need it.

Vehicle Storage, Too! Whether you operate a food truck or a catering service, self storage can offer a safe and out-of-the-way home for your work vehicles when they’re not in use so they’re not taking up space in your parking lot or driveway. Plus, most self storage facilities are fenced, gated, and monitored, giving you a safe place to park.

But NOT Perishables. As you can see, restaurant storage can provide a wide array of options for storing just about anything that you need to keep out of the way. One thing you should never store, though, is any perishable item that can go bad over time. These are easy for you to forget about when they’re in storage, and they run the risk of spoiling when you aren’t aware of it. They can also draw pests. Keep those closer to hand, and use restaurant storage for everything else!

Whether you’re looking for storage units in Oklahoma for your restaurant, bar, food truck, or catering service, Storage ‘R’ Us has a solution that’s perfect for you! As a Class-A designated storage facility, we’ve been serving the community since 1972, and we pride ourselves on our dedication to security, customer service, and providing the very best self-storage in Oklahoma!