How to Choose a Bakery Display Case: Refrigerated vs Dry, Countertop vs Floor, Curved vs Square

A bakery display case — also sold as a pastry display case, a cake case or a bakery showcase — is a sales tool that happens to be refrigeration. It has to hold cake at the right temperature without drying it out, show the product from the customer's eye level, and fit the counter you already have. This guide covers the four decisions that actually change what you buy — refrigerated or dry, countertop or floor, curved or square glass, and how wide — using the real numbers from the Polarman PLM series.

First: bakery case, pastry case and cake case are the same cabinet

The vocabulary in this category follows what you put inside, not the machine. It is worth clearing up before you compare anything, because the same cabinet is listed under four or five names:

• Pastry display case — a refrigerated glass case, usually described that way by cafes and patisseries because the product is croissants, tarts and cream-filled pastry.
• Bakery display case — the same cabinet, described from the room it stands in rather than the product.
• Cake case / bakery showcase — again the same cabinet; "showcase" tends to mean the taller floor version.
• Dry bakery display case — this one is different: no compressor, no refrigeration, for shelf-stable product only. See the next section.
• Countertop bakery display case — also a real distinction, but of mounting rather than type. Same machine, built to sit on a counter instead of the floor.

So of all the names you will search, only two describe a genuinely different purchase: dry versus refrigerated, and countertop versus floor. Everything else is the same cabinet under a different word. Those two, plus glass shape and width, are what this guide works through.

1. Refrigerated or dry

Two different cases, often confused:

• Dry cases are unrefrigerated glass cabinets for cookies, muffins, breads, bagels and anything shelf-stable. Cheaper, no compressor, no drain.
• Refrigerated cases hold roughly 32–54°F for cheesecake, cream-filled pastry, mousse, tiramisu, tarts and anything with dairy or custard.

We stock refrigerated cases. If everything you sell is dry — a bagel counter, a cookie shop — a dry case saves money and takes nothing away. The moment cream, custard or fresh fruit enters the lineup, refrigeration is not optional.

2. Countertop or floor

This is decided by whether you have counter to give up.

A countertop case sits on an existing service counter, so the glass lands near eye level and the footprint costs you nothing on the floor plan — but you lose that counter for anything else, and the counter has to carry up to 310 lb. A floor case brings its own base, holds two to three times as much, and can be placed to shape the queue.

3. Curved or square glass

On the same cabinet width, Polarman offers both. It is mostly a look — but not only.

• Curved glass (models ending A) is the classic patisserie front. Softer reflections, more traditional. Slightly less usable volume at the same width: the 48" curved PLM-371A holds 420 L where the square PLM-371S holds 530 L.
• Square glass (models ending S) is flat-fronted and modern, gives more capacity per inch of width, and is easier to clean — no curved surface to wipe around.

Both come in a black finish (B suffix, e.g. PLM-371SB) alongside the stainless and glass standard.

4. Height: the x70 vs x71 decision

Within each width, Polarman offers two heights, and this is the choice people miss:

• x70 models — 47 3/5" to 48" tall. Lower glass, customers look down into the case, and staff reach over the top easily. Better at a counter where sightlines matter.
• x71 models — 55 1/2" to 55 9/10" tall. Taller cabinet, noticeably more capacity for the same footprint: the 48" PLM-371S holds 530 L against 400 L for the shorter PLM-370S, in the same 48" of floor.

If floor space is tight and volume matters, go taller. If the case sits in front of a service area staff work across, go lower.

Polarman bakery cases by width

All freestanding models: bottom-mount compressor, R290 refrigerant, LED lighting, 32–53.6°F, 110–120V, glass and stainless steel construction, 1-year warranty.

Countertop models

Every countertop model plugs into a standard 110–120V outlet. Confirm your counter can carry the loaded weight before ordering the 48" or 60".

Merchandising: what actually sells cake

• Fill the top shelf first. It is at eye level and it is what people see from the queue. An empty top shelf reads as "closed".
• Leave air around each item. A packed case looks like inventory; a composed case looks like a bakery. Refrigeration also needs airflow to hold temperature evenly.
• Put the case where the queue forms, not behind the register. People buy dessert while they wait, not after they have paid.
• Keep the glass spotless. It is the one piece of equipment where fingerprints cost you sales.
• Out of direct sun. A glass case in a south-facing window runs the compressor continuously and still warms at the top.

Before you order

• Width measured, plus clearance for the rear service doors to open
• Counter load rating checked if it is a countertop model
• Dedicated 110–120V circuit (2.7–7.7 A running)
• Curved or square, lower or taller, stainless or black
• A probe thermometer for the case, if you hold cream-filled product