What Winter Storm Uri Showed Everyone
In February 2021, the Texas power grid failed during an unprecedented winter freeze. Millions of homes and businesses lost electricity for days, and temperatures inside buildings dropped well below freezing in parts of Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.
The spoilage story from that event was not what most people expected. Yes, refrigerated inventory warmed up and spoiled. But a separate and less-discussed loss category hit businesses storing items that were never supposed to freeze at all. Produce stored in a back room, wine, certain medications, specialty sauces and condiments. All of it froze solid when the heat went out and outside temperatures dropped to single digits in some parts of the state. Many business owners discovered that their spoilage coverage was written around refrigeration failures and power outages causing warming. The freezing-cold scenario was an entirely different claim, and their policies had not been set up for it.
Texas now understands in a way it did not before that spoilage risk is not one-directional. It can come from heat and it can come from cold, and both need to be accounted for.
The Summer Heat Side of It
On the other end of the calendar, Texas summers put serious mechanical stress on commercial refrigeration equipment. Dallas regularly sees stretches above 100 degrees Fahrenheit through summer, and South Texas runs considerably hotter. The Rio Grande Valley and Laredo corridor can push through extended runs of triple-digit heat in a severe year. Through all of those months, commercial refrigeration compressors are working hard against outside air that never cools down much even at night, and that continuous strain accelerates wear and raises the odds of a mechanical failure.
A compressor that gives out on a Saturday in August in Dallas is not just an inconvenience. It is the walk-in full of weekend prep, the bar program, and everything a restaurant or grocer needs to open Monday morning.
Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio
Texas has four of the largest cities in the country, and all four have significant food and beverage industries. Houston’s restaurant scene is one of the most diverse in the nation. Austin’s growth has brought an enormous number of specialty food businesses, food halls, and high-volume restaurants that carry substantial perishable inventory. San Antonio has a large hospitality market tied to tourism. Dallas supports a dense mix of upscale dining and neighborhood restaurants across a sprawling metro area.
Any of these businesses operating without spoilage coverage, or with a limit that does not reflect their actual peak inventory, is exposed. The cost to restock a commercial kitchen after a total loss is higher than most owners estimate before they have to actually do it.
Making Sure the Policy Fits Texas
Standard spoilage endorsements are mostly written around refrigeration failures and off-site power outages. In Texas, the conversation also has to include what happens when extreme cold, not heat, is the thing that ruins inventory. That scenario is real here in a way it is not in most states.
We work with Texas businesses across all of these cities to make sure their coverage was built around how Texas actually operates. Give us a call and walk us through your setup.