Buying Professional

Did you know that anyone can purchase from a restaurant supply store?

I remember when this wasn’t possible.  In my day, (and we aren’t going there) if you weren’t part of the hospitality industry, you were only able to window shop.  Selling restaurant equipment and supplies changed in the mid 80’s when we experienced one of those market corrections.  The wholesale business dropped off and they scrambled for another way to fill the void. 

Now, the restaurant warehouse looks more like a self service retailer.  You don’t need to purchase a case—you can buy just one.  As wide-eyed exciting as this sounds, it is still “buyer beware.”  The prices may be more or less than the local department store and the quality may follow suite. 

The number one benefit is that you can acquire items you can’t get anywhere else—10 different sizes of squeeze bottles, bowl scrapers that really work, real chef knives—and not so real, glassware and anything that was built for pouring—and the list goes on.

Let me give you an example.  Back in the 70’s, I managed a restaurant with a dining room decorated with those straight backed, comfy cushioned, mustard colored chairs.  Now there is a time in history that needs no repeating.  However, I longed for a very comfortable, straight backed chair to assure hours on end computer sitting. So, I drove on down to my local restaurant supply warehouse and lo and behold—there it was—not quite as comfy as I remembered, but in a choice of colors—thank the gods.  And I was out of there for $30.00.  Four years later this chair is still in service. 

This isn’t a place where you want to purchase everything, but it is another choice.  It’s also a great place to still do that window shopping—it let’s you know what is out there.

A little advice:  Make it a rainy day activity. Let your fingers do the walking—search restaurant supplies on the web and stroll up and down the isles just for the fun. But please, take someone with you to keep you grounded and leave the wallet at home.  Remember, you’re just looking.

—The Redi-Base Chef