This week on the Commercial Kitchen Chronicles, Pat sits down with Jay McDonough of Restaurant Appliance Repair out of Kansas City, Missouri for a real-world conversation about what it takes to build a name in the Foodservice Equipment Repair Industry. 🔥

Jay started RAR at just 25 years old and has spent the last 11 years grinding through commercial kitchen equipment repair, refrigeration, walk-in cooler and freezer installs, electrical troubleshooting, equipment sales, and building solutions for restaurants across the KC market.

https://www.816kitchen.com/

https://www.instagram.com/restaurant_appliance_repair/?hl=en

This episode dives deep into:
✔️ Commercial kitchen equipment repair
✔️ Refrigeration and HVACR service
✔️ Walk-in cooler and freezer installs
✔️ Starting and growing a service company
✔️ Social media and content creation in the trades
✔️ The future of foodservice equipment repair
✔️ Building a new line of food equipment products

If you’re a technician, business owner, installer, refrigeration mechanic, or someone trying to grow in the skilled trades, this episode is loaded with insight from someone actually out there doing the work every single day.

Huge thanks to our sponsor Viper by Refrigeration Technologies 🐍

This episode is brought to you by Viper products built for real technicians. From Big Blu leak detector and Venom packs to Nylog White, Viper continues making products that belong on every service truck. Nylog White is NSF registered and perfect for refrigeration, food equipment, gas piping, water lines, and more. Whether you’re working on restaurant equipment, HVACR systems, or refrigeration repairs, Viper has products designed to help techs work smarter and cleaner.

https://www.refrigtech.com/

🎙️ Watch now and join the conversation.

Drop a comment below:

What’s the biggest challenge facing the Foodservice Equipment Repair Industry right now?

Make sure to like, subscribe, share the episode, and tag another tech who needs to hear this one.

Stay up to date with all things CKC related.

https://commercialkitchenchronicles.com/

#FoodserviceEquipmentRepair #CommercialKitchen #HVACR #Refrigeration #RestaurantEquipment #WalkInCooler #TechnicianLife #CommercialKitchenChronicles #SkilledTrades #HVACTech #RefrigerationTech #KitchenEquipmentRepair

What happens when Pat, Jason, and Rich get together with zero agenda and full permission to go off the rails? This episode right here 🔥

The crew is back for one of the most unfiltered Commercial Kitchen Chronicles episodes yet. We’re talking commercial kitchen equipment repair, HVACR, refrigeration tech life, service call chaos, career moves, burnout, leadership, the realities of the trades, and all the random BS that happens when technicians start talking shop.

Jason jumps back in after grinding through his new role, Rich brings the heat like always, and the entire episode feels like hanging out after work with the guys who actually understand what life in the field is like. No corporate filter. No polished nonsense. Just real tech talk from people actually doing the job.

If you’re tired of fake trade content made by people who haven’t touched a tool in years, this episode is for you.

Huge shoutout to 🐍 Viper from Refrigeration Technologies for sponsoring the episode. If you work in commercial kitchens, you already know grease destroys coils and wrecks efficiency. Viper coil cleaners are technician safe, non corrosive, and actually cut through the nasty buildup without destroying the equipment you’re trying to save. No gimmicks. Just products that work when the pressure is on.

https://www.refrigtech.com/

Drop a comment with your favorite part of the episode
Share it with your crew

And if this sounds like your kind of chaos, subscribe and join the movement 🔧🔥

https://commercialkitchenchronicles.com/

#HVACR #CommercialKitchen #Refrigeration #FoodserviceEquipment #ServiceTechnician #BlueCollar #HVACLife #RefrigerationTech #TradesLife #CommercialKitchenChronicles

What’s REALLY holding service companies back? 🤔

In this episode of Commercial Kitchen Chronicles, we sit down with 🎙️ Aaron Jacobitz from Refrigeration Heroesto break down the hard truths about sales, team building, and growth in the refrigeration and foodservice repair industry.

If you’re a technician, service manager, or business owner trying to level up… this one is going to hit 👇

We’re talking:
🔥 Why most service companies stay stuck (and how to fix it)
🔥 The real role of SALES in a service business (without being pushy)
🔥 How to build high-performing teams that actually produce
🔥 Why communication might be more valuable than technical skill
🔥 The shift from “just a tech” to a high-value professional
🔥 Systems, processes, and leadership that actually scale a company

This isn’t theory. This is real-world insight from someone driving growth inside the industry right now.

🐍 Brought to you by Viper from Refrigeration Technologies

If you’re still fighting callbacks, dirty coils, or chasing leaks… you’re making your life harder than it needs to be.

https://www.refrigtech.com/

From coil cleaners to leak detection and system protection, Viper has the tools techs actually trust in the field.
👉 Do it right the first time and keep your callbacks low

🎯 Who this episode is for:
✔️ Refrigeration technicians
✔️ Foodservice equipment repair pros
✔️ HVACR professionals
✔️ Service managers and business owners
✔️ Anyone trying to grow in the skilled trades

💥 If you’ve ever felt stuck… underpaid… or like your company isn’t moving forward… this episode will challenge how you think about your role in the industry

👉 Drop a comment with your biggest takeaway
👉 Share this with a tech or manager who needs to hear it
👉 Subscribe for more real-world content from the foodservice repair industry

Commercial Kitchen Chronicles
The original foodservice equipment repair podcast
Real techs. Real stories. Real growth. 👊

https://commercialkitchenchronicles.com/

Find more out from Aaron

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-jacobitz-94935a199/

https://refrigerationheroes.com