Restaurant Supply Companies

[gabby29]

i'm hoping to compile a list of local (chicago, il) and national restaurant supply companies that are reputable and offer good bargains.

please feel free to list your favorite. thanks in advance!

gabby

[liv4fud]

there are tons of them - start with restaurant depot/jetro in the city
don edwards and one more (especially for utensils) near lincoln park

gfs & marlinn near midway
bunch of them near ohare

[gabby29]

liv,

thanks a bunch for all the resources! do you find the prices to be more reasonable than what you'd see in retail shops or discount resellers online? also, have you visited any? if so, what are your thoughts? and do they offer sales/specials as well? okay, loads of questions at this hour. *s*

thanks again.

gabby

[liv4fud]

yes a bunch of them are open to public others are not

gfs, marlinn, donEd are open to public

rest. dep and jetro are not

but yes all of them have their own sale paper. and yes the items are cheaper - a lot cheaper - as compared to other stores but you have to buy in bulk

other than marlinn, I have been to others
I try to go often to just get a feel for ordering supplies and to know what to expect.
also there are loads of catalog / warehouse type of places. you can look at yellow pages type websites or google for them. unfortunately google is not the best tool yet as there are not many that have websites.

one word of caution, there are a few stores that I have run across that display restaurant supplies and open to public but are a rip off in terms of quality of ingredients or utensils

conversely if you keep an eye out you would be able to find stores that are not too prominent but have some really good things (DonEd was found by me during my regular visits to a computer store near by).

one thing that I have found is that not many restaurant owners are willing to part with their contacts / stores. the stores also dont advertise as they are dealing with a specific market segment that almost always find them. this is a lot true in dealing with ethnic food groups or specialized equipment.

but that is why we have forums like these where people are more than happy to point you in the right direction and who take competition as self-improvement / control

[gabby29]

liv,

thanks a heap for the additional information. i have been doing some research but it's always best to ask people that have gone if you can. as i'm sure you know. i wasn't aware of the secrecy some have about their sources. good grief. *just laughs*

for those places that aren't open to the public, what do they require for entrance? do you need to show some identification, license, etc?

gabby

[liv4fud]

business license / tax id info

btw, do mention your visited stores / discoveries here also

[gabby29]

liv,

here's one i found out about while doing a search. it is near the ed outlet store.

http://www.krasnyco.com/index.htm

gabby