Dish & Tray Dispensers

Dish and tray dispensers provide more secure storage of your dishes, and easier accessibility for guests.

Whether you have a load of plates or stack of trays, here you will find a dispenser to help keep your establishment organized. Dish and tray dispensers are pretty much essential for busy cafeterias, restaurants, and offices. Either heated or unheated, our dish dispensers will help you keep your commercial kitchen organized and ready for any number of customers.

Drop-In Dish Dispensers

Plate dispensers make it simple for operators to distribute a large volume of plates and platters with minimal oversight or labor. Drop-in dispensers are constructed to be built into countertops or tabletops. This design is nice because it hides the steel frame from customers. All they will see is the next tray or plate lifting up for them to easily grab. Drop-in designs allow you more custom buffet line layouts, just be sure to match the dimensions of the dispenser and cutout of your countertop.

Drop-in plate dispensers and drop-in tray dispensers come with a self-dispensing mechanism, that will continually lift dishes up for the customers to easily grab. This system will also help keep staff oversight at a minimum.

Mobile Dish Dispensers

Mobile plate dispensers are a very important piece of equipment for any high-volume restaurant or cafeteria. Mobile tray dispensers are great for holding either clean trays at the beginning of a buffet line or are a great spot for guest to put dirty trays when finished. The mobility of these dish dollies makes them more versatile than drop-in models. Our selection offers you so many ways to safely and conveniently move clean dishes throughout your establishment. They can also be used as mobile storage for large amounts of chinaware.

Heated or Non-heated

Decide between heated or non-heated dish dispensers. Each type has its own pros and cons. Heated dispensers have become more popular over time, especially at buffets, catering events, and fine dining restaurants. A heated plate dispenser keeps plates warm, meaning that when hot food is put on the plate, it stays hot longer. When serving meals or going through a hot buffet, a hot plate will keep plated meals at higher temperatures.

If you're serving a hot, sizzling steak, you don't want to serve it on a cold plate. The cold plate will draw out more heat from the steak and cool it down quicker. This is where heated dish dispensers make the difference. Keep hot foods at ideal serving temperatures for longer using a heated plate or dish. Heated dish carts require a power source and generally need lids placed over the openings in between uses to conserve power.

Non-heated dish dispensers are just as useful as heated models. Unheated dispensers typically have larger capacities than heated models. They also do not require any electrical connections and wont need to be plugged in. These units can be placed next to salad bars, dessert tables, or chilled buffet lines.

Whether you need a plate or tray dispensing cart or just a drop-in dispensing unit, we have a wide variety of both with varying plate and tray sizes. In need of some new tray dollies for the school cafeteria? Burkett has many options to make your kitchen run smoother.

What size plates can a dish dispenser hold?

Sizes vary by model. The typical maximum size for plates and platters is 14.5 inches. Tray dispensers can comfortably hold tray sizes up to 26 inches. Each model has a description which will contain the product specifications. Browse an assortment of dinnerware and food service trays to be sure your dispensers match. Be sure to match up your dish dimensions with the proper dish dispenser.

How can you clean dish or tray dispensers?

Cleaning your dish or tray dispenser is as easy as it gets. Open units are easier to clean, generally speaking, but all dish dispensers that we offer are NSF certified to be made of approved materials and capable of maintaining sanitation requirements. Many units recommend cleaning with simple soap and water.

Why should you get a heated dish dispenser?

Heated dish dispensers will not only keep clean dishes organized and easy to grab for guests or chefs, but they also provide your dishes with heat before foods even touch them. Using a warm plate to plate up hot food will allow the hot food to stay hotter for longer while making its way to a guests table. Putting hot food on a cold plate will significantly speed up the cooling down of your hot foods.

Check out our cafeteria equipment & supplies page to complete your purchase.