Any hotel that’s been around for more than 100 years will have some interesting stories to tell. The historic Skirvin Hilton, a beacon in downtown Oklahoma City for 108 years, has welcomed famous faces like Harry Truman, Elvis and countless NBA basketball teams. The hotel was revitalized in 2007 after being purchased by Hilton Hotel Group and Marcus Hotels and Resorts, but the kitchen spaces were already in need of another upgrade.

“We were operating on the old school system, metal racks, and that’s really it.  The only option you had was how many shelves to make 12” or 18” wide,” said Kyle Lippe, Director of Operations at the Skirvin Hilton.

The Skirvin Hilton has 40,000 sq. feet of event space that includes ballrooms on the 2nd and 14th floors, a high-end steakhouse called the Park Ave. Grill, a breakfast restaurant buffet area and a piano lounge that seats 80 people. The equipment in the coolers, dish rooms and banquet rooms couldn’t keep up with the amount of use the hotel requires.

““To see the stuff that Cambro had available made us step back and say we aren’t just ordering 20 new shelves, we are going to revamp,” said Lippe.

First on the list was to install Camshelving Premium Series in the coolers on the first floor and in pastry chef spaces and dish pits. Second, Camshelving was added to the 2^nd floor banquet kitchen shelving, coolers and freezers.

“It was a pretty in-depth project that covered a lot of different areas from dish pits to walk-in freezers, rack storage and banquet storage,” said Lippe. “It’s really slick and it looks great.”

Camshelving allowed Lippe’s staff to hang dry their pots and pans instead stacking them and potentially creating wet nesting. Additionally, Camshelving allowed each space to maximize its storage potential.

Before and After

“Everything is off the ground, you don’t open the door to a wall of boxes and it really is organized. The utilization of our space is truly amazing compared to what it once was,” said Lippe. “We added certain racks to hold cutting boards and the amount of space we are able to functionally utilize in our dish pit is really light years from where it was and beyond my expectations.”

Lippe worked with his local Cambro rep, Chrane Foodservice Solutions, to find the most efficient solution to the Skirvin Hilton’s problems.

“[My Cambro rep] was flexible to work with, being extremely knowledgeable…he immediately would have the answers,” said Lippe. “That commitment to understanding the industry as a whole make a difference to me.”

Set your operation up with the right equipment and the best possible space utilization with Camshelving. Contact your Cambro rep today to get started.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIANA DESIDERIO IS THE DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER AT CAMBRO.