Commercial Refrigerator Repair in Tampa Bay
- Free service callwith any repair — $99 only if you decide not to repair
- 4 real jobs on this pagerestaurant, bar, kitchen and fitness center, $486 to $630 invoiced
- 90-day warrantyon parts and labor
Licensed, insured and background-checked technicians
$25 OFF Same-Day Repair
We call back within 15 minutes – 8 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week
Commercial Refrigerator Not Cooling? Start Here
When a commercial refrigerator stops holding temperature, the food is at risk within hours. In the four jobs on this page the compressor was healthy every time. A temperature control or thermostat had failed in all four, and in one of them two evaporator fans had failed with it. The invoiced totals were $486 to $630, parts and labor.
We repair reach-in and walk-in refrigerators, prep tables and bar coolers for restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels and fitness centers in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton.
- Protect the food first
- Keep the door closed and move perishables to a working unit or onto ice. Cold food should stay at 41°F or below, the FDA Food Code limit.
- Fans run but it is warm
- On the True reach-in the fans and the light worked and the cabinet was still warm. The control was powered but no longer told the compressor to start. Note what the display shows and whether you hear the compressor click on.
- Look at the condenser coil
- A coat of dust on the coil makes the compressor work harder. Continental’s own nameplate says the condenser coil needs scheduled cleaning every 30 days or as needed.
- Frost on the back wall
- Ice over the evaporator coil and a frozen drain line mean the air is not moving. On the Turbo Air prep table it was two dead evaporator fan motors.
- When you call
- Have the brand, the model from the nameplate, what the display says and whether the compressor starts. It lets us bring the likely part.
Four Commercial Refrigerators From Our Records
A restaurant, a bar counter, a commercial kitchen and a fitness center. Parts, visits and totals as invoiced.
True T-72 reach-in, St. Pete Beach restaurant: warm in the morning, fans still running
| Machine | True T-72 three-door reach-in refrigerator |
|---|---|
| Business | Restaurant, St. Pete Beach |
| Complaint | Warm after a normal evening; fans and light working, compressor not running |
| What failed | Temperature control (thermostat) |
| Parts | $236 |
| Labor | $250 |
| Visits | 1, same day |
| Total (parts and labor) | $486 |
What the owner saw. The restaurant closed after a normal evening. In the morning the cabinet was warm. The fans ran and the light was on, but nothing was cooling.
What it was. The technician checked the compressor and its connections and found them sound: the compressor simply was not being told to start. The temperature control still had power but had stopped passing the start signal to the compressor when the temperature rose. The part was on the truck, so he replaced it on the spot.
Then he proved it. He checked the cycle at the set temperature (34 to 36°F): the compressor shut off when the cabinet reached it and started again after the door was opened. He also found the coil area packed with a thick layer of dust, so he cleaned and vacuumed it before leaving. The unit was back to normal the same day.
Micro Matic MDD-78 bar cooler, Tampa: fine one day, warm the next
| Machine | Micro Matic MDD-78 bar cooler |
|---|---|
| Business | Bar and café counter, Tampa |
| Complaint | Stopped cooling; warm inside |
| What failed | Temperature control (user-interface board), and the refrigerant was low |
| Parts | $271 |
| Labor and refrigerant | $300 |
| Visits | 2: part ordered, fitted next day |
| Total (parts and labor) | $571 |
What the owner saw. The cooler had worked and then, between one opening of the door and the next, it was warm inside and no longer running as it should.
What it was. The technician tested the compressor and found it fine. The temperature control, the small board where you set the temperature and which starts the compressor and the fans, was dead: it had power and did nothing. The part was not on the truck. He ordered it, came back the next day and fitted it, and the compressor started.
The second finding. With the system running he could finally check the rest, and the refrigerant was low. The cooler had been running far longer than it should to reach the set temperature. He added refrigerant, which is why labor and refrigerant came to $300.
Continental reach-in, St. Petersburg kitchen: shut itself off and would not restart
| Machine | Continental commercial reach-in refrigerator |
|---|---|
| Business | Commercial kitchen, St. Petersburg |
| Complaint | Shut itself off, no power to the controls |
| What failed | Temperature control (small control board) |
| Parts | $356 |
| Labor | $230 |
| Visits | 1, same day |
| Total (parts and labor) | $586 |
What the owner saw. The refrigerator switched itself off and would not come back on.
What it was. The technician checked the compressor, the connections and the pressure in the system: all normal. The fault was the control board that runs the whole refrigerator. A voltage spike or too much moisture in the room can do that to a board; it is electronics, and it simply stopped working, so it never started the unit.
The repair. The part was on the truck and went in the same day. Nothing else needed replacing. While there we cleaned the coil, and the unit pulled down to temperature quickly.
Turbo Air MST-48 prep table, Tampa fitness center: running, but never cold enough
| Machine | Turbo Air MST-48 sandwich and salad prep table |
|---|---|
| Business | Fitness center, Tampa |
| Complaint | Running, but not reaching temperature |
| What failed | Two evaporator fan motors and the temperature thermostat |
| Parts | $380 |
| Labor | $250 |
| Visits | 2: parts ordered, fitted two days later |
| Total (parts and labor) | $630 |
What the owner saw. The unit ran and made its usual noise, but it never got properly cold.
What it was. The compressor and the refrigerant circuit were fine. Two evaporator fan motors and the temperature thermostat had failed. With no air moving, the evaporator coil iced over completely and the drain line froze.
The repair. The parts had to be ordered, and the technician came back two days later. He defrosted the unit, cleaned the coil, replaced both fan motors and the thermostat and did a full service. It cooled like a new one.
Customer Reviews
Refrigerator down at your restaurant, bar or hotel? Tell us the brand and what it is doing
We call back within 15 minutes – 8 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week
Florida Heat, Tourists and Game Days
Commercial refrigeration works hardest where Tampa Bay is busiest.
Heat and humidity load every condenser coil, and a kitchen or a bar adds grease and dust. On the True job the coil area was packed with dust, and Continental’s nameplate puts the cleaning interval at 30 days. In our four jobs a control failed every time: the electronics are the part that gives out when the room is hot, damp or the power is rough.
- Game days and event weekends
- The Lightning play at Amalie Arena, the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium and the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg. Bowl games come to Raymond James Stadium and the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg runs in spring. Kitchens and bars around those venues cannot afford a warm walk-in on the busiest night.
- Tournaments and youth sports
- The Tampa Bay Sports Commission counted 99 youth and amateur events across 28 sports in 2022–2023, which filled more than 250,000 hotel rooms. The NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship in December 2023 brought a record 39,325 visitors to Amalie Arena.
- St. Petersburg and Clearwater
- Visit St. Pete-Clearwater reported 132 athletic contests in fiscal year 2024 with a direct economic impact of $111.35 million. Hotels, beach restaurants and bars carry that traffic.
- Gyms and sports clubs
- A fitness center runs a café and prep line all day. The Turbo Air job above was exactly that.
Monthly Service for Restaurants, Bars and Hotels
The cheapest repair is the one that never becomes an emergency. We service commercial refrigeration on a schedule, with at least one visit a month, on terms agreed with each business.
- One visit a month, as a minimum
- The day, the units and the price are agreed with you, so the work happens outside your rush.
- Condenser coil cleaning
- The first thing dust takes away. Continental’s label says every 30 days or as needed.
- Temperature control and set point
- A control or thermostat failed in all four jobs on this page. We check that it reads and switches correctly.
- Evaporator fans, defrost and drain
- Fans that stop let the coil ice over and freeze the drain line, as on the Turbo Air.
- Compressor cycle
- We confirm the compressor shuts off at the set temperature and restarts when it rises, as the technician did on the True.
- A record for your inspector
- After each visit you know what we checked and what we found.
Between visits you call the same number. When we have the part on the truck, the repair is finished on the same visit, as on the True and the Continental. When a part has to be ordered, you hear the wait before we start; it was one to two days on the other two jobs.
What Commercial Refrigerator Repair Costs
- True T-72, St. Pete Beach
- $486 with a $236 temperature control and one same-day visit.
- Micro Matic MDD-78, Tampa
- $571 with a $271 temperature control, refrigerant and two visits.
- Continental, St. Petersburg
- $586 with a $356 temperature control and one same-day visit.
- Turbo Air MST-48, Tampa
- $630 with two fan motors and a thermostat for $380 and two visits.
- The visit itself
- Free when you go ahead with the repair. The $99 commercial service call is charged only if you hear the diagnosis and the price and decide not to proceed.
- Monthly service
- Priced per business and per number of units. We agree it with you before the first visit.
Andrew Teodor 
Nataliya Teodor 
Sem Green 
John Goldin Refrigerator down right now?
We take calls across Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton, 8 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week.
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Commercial Refrigerator Repair: Questions We Get
How much does commercial refrigerator repair cost in Tampa Bay?
Our four jobs on this page came to $486, $571, $586 and $630, parts and labor. The control or thermostat was the main part each time, $236 to $356 on its own. You hear the price before any work begins, and the service call is free when you go ahead with the repair.
Why did my commercial refrigerator stop cooling when the compressor still works?
Often because the temperature control has failed. In all four of our jobs the compressor was healthy and a temperature control or thermostat was not. A powered control that no longer starts the compressor looks like a dead refrigerator with the fans still running.
How often should a commercial refrigerator be serviced?
We recommend a visit every month for restaurants, bars and hotels. The condenser coil in particular needs regular cleaning: the nameplate on a Continental reach-in says every 30 days or as needed.
Do you offer scheduled service for restaurants and hotels?
Yes. Monthly service starts at one visit a month. The day, the units covered and the price are agreed with each business before the first visit.
Can you repair a commercial refrigerator the same day?
When the part is on the truck, yes: two of our four jobs, the True and the Continental, were finished on the first visit. When a part has to be ordered, the other two took one to two days and you hear that before we start.
What should I do with the food while I wait?
Keep the door closed, move perishables to a working unit or onto ice, and keep cold food at 41°F or below, the FDA Food Code limit.
Which commercial refrigerator brands do you repair?
The jobs on this page were a True, a Micro Matic, a Continental and a Turbo Air. Call with the brand and the model number from the nameplate and we will tell you what we can do.
What warranty do you give?
90 days on parts and labor.
Which areas do you cover?
Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton, 8 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week. For home units see our Tampa refrigerator repair page.
Andrew Teodor — Owner of Teodor Appliance Repair with 10+ years of experience, with offices in Tampa, Bradenton, Clearwater, Sarasota and St. Petersburg. The jobs on this page come from our own service records.