Why Restaurants Need Mechanical Equipment Screens

Why do restaurants need mechanical equipment screens? Aren’t the top priorities to cook great food, provide exceptional customer service, and maintain a friendly, professional environment? Obviously those are essential to running a successful restaurant, but there are appearance-related factors that contribute to your restaurant’s success. In this article, we’ll cover the benefits that equipment screens lend to an eatery and cover just a few of the design options available here at PalmSHIELD.

Abide by civil codes (and spare you costly fines)!

Progressive cities in this day and age enforce civil codes within their jurisdiction, and property owners are required to abide. Failure to meet the conditions laid out within these codes — failure to obscure items from view — can result in fines that’ll cut into your profits! The purpose of these codes is to maintain consistent visuals and keep unsightly mechanical equipment out of public sight. Examples of said equipment include:

• HVACs
• Transformers
• Solar panels
• Rooftop equipment

Obscuring these items from view makes sense from a business perspective, as well. Again, the idea is to hide certain fixtures that are considered unsightly. So think about this. A prospective customer is strolling through the strip mall or driving around the neighborhood, and they come within view of your establishment — and they see ugly gray machines jutting out from the roof, from the terrain at the corner, near the entrance. The impression is that your restaurant is not well-maintained and that safety is not among your concerns. (And if that’s the case, why should anyone expect the food to be sanitary?)

If, however, all these items are cleanly hidden from view, customers see a building with a uniform appearance.

Obscure dumpster enclosures for a more sanitary appearance

It goes without saying that dumpsters are an essential installation for restaurants, as each day produces an exceptional amount of trash (uneaten leftovers, emptied ingredient packaging, etc.) that must be disposed of. At the same time, dumpsters aren’t exactly appealing to look at, and you’re more likely to attract customers by keeping them hidden from view. What’s more, unprotected dumpsters are vulnerable to wild animals scrounging for an easy meal, and they’re prone to leaving a mess in their pursuit of nourishment. Mechanical equipment screens serve as a barrier to keep out animals as well as vandals.

Protection for expensive mechanical equipment

HVACs, transformers, cooling towers, etc. are not only essential for your restaurant’s operation; they’re also extremely expensive to repair. Hence why don’t want them exposed and vulnerable to vandalism. Only authorized personnel (staff and repair teams) should be able to reach them. A mechanical equipment screen enclosure with a sturdy gate solves this dilemma. Our Gorilla hinges and lock system keep your gate securely shut; but at the same time, authorized personnel can easily gain entry.

Hide mechanical equipment with screens that match your building profile

PalmSHIELD provides a broad spectrum of equipment screen designs in order to accommodate as many building profiles as possible. Our signature architectural louvers are custom-designed and fabricated to seal items from view while also permitting the desired degree of ventilation. This is ideal for hiding rooftop equipment, as the installation angle must keep things hidden from the perspective of someone looking up from the ground. We manufacture screens with louvers arranged in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal formations.

All of which can be powder coated any color you want. That’s right: you don’t have to settle for solid gray equipment screens that may work fine for an industrial setting but would clash horrifically with a restaurant profile. PalmSHIELD’s team will powder coat your panels so that they match your building exterior.

We also sell mechanical equipment screens designed to fit infrastructure composed of traditional masonry. Check our Faux Brick & Stone collection, which uses specially crafted polymer infill to simulate the appearance of bricks, concrete, and other surfaces — minus the overwhelming weight!