The Beer Stop: Custom Walk-In Beer Cave for a new Chevron Extra Mile
Touchstone Refrigeration designed and installed a complete walk-in beer cave and back-of-house cold storage system for a brand new Chevron Extra Mile convenience store in Utah. The project included a customer-facing walk-in beer cave with glass display doors, a dedicated 21+ entry, and a separate back room walk-in cooler for beverage overstock, all delivered on schedule for the station's grand opening.
Introduction
Our Solution
Touchstone Refrigeration installed a U.S. Cooler panelized walk-in system engineered for the space, with insulated panels assembled on site to fit the store's footprint exactly.
The customer-facing beer cave features rows of glass display doors that let shoppers grab singles and six-packs without entering, plus a full-glass walk-in entry door inviting customers to step inside for cases and bulk purchases. Inside, gravity-fed can racks keep singles faced and rotating, while heavy-duty shelving holds case stacks of every major domestic, import, and seltzer brand. A ceiling-mounted evaporator system maintains a consistent 34 degrees throughout the room.
The back-of-house walk-in cooler gives staff a dedicated cold storage room for beverage overstock, complete with a viewing window, exterior digital temperature display for at-a-glance monitoring, and shelving sized for cases and crates. Staff can restock the sales floor coolers from behind without ever interrupting the customer experience.
Both units were installed in coordination with the general contractor's schedule, with refrigeration lines, condensers, and controls commissioned and dialed in ahead of opening day.
The Challenge
New construction projects come with their own set of demands. The refrigeration work had to coordinate with framing, electrical, flooring, and millwork crews, all working toward the same grand opening date. Specific challenges included:
Dual-zone design. The store needed two distinct walk-in environments: a polished, customer-facing beer cave on the sales floor and a utilitarian back-of-house cooler for bulk beverage storage, each with its own access, layout, and merchandising requirements.
Retail integration. The beer cave couldn't look like a metal box dropped into the store. It had to integrate seamlessly with the store's design, including glass display doors on the sales floor side, a full-glass entry door, stone veneer cladding, and branded signage.
Compliance built in. As an alcohol retail space, the cave required age-restriction signage, alcohol advisory notices, and a layout that keeps the beer section clearly separated from general merchandise.
Consistent holding temperature. Beer merchandising demands a stable ice-cold environment across a large open room with frequent door traffic, requiring properly sized evaporator systems and tight panel construction.
The Result
The station opened on time with a fully operational beer cave that anchors the entire beverage section of the store. The Beer Stop delivers:
A destination beer shopping experience with hundreds of SKUs merchandised cold, from single tallboys to 30-packs, all held at a consistent 34 degrees.
Dual access merchandising that serves both the quick grab-and-go customer at the glass doors and the case buyer walking the cave.
Streamlined operations with back-of-house cold storage that keeps the sales floor stocked and reduces the number of trips between the storeroom and the coolers.
A polished, branded retail presence that turns refrigeration equipment into a design feature rather than an eyesore.
From bare ground to grand opening, Touchstone Refrigeration delivered a commercial refrigeration package that helps this new Chevron Extra Mile compete on day one.