How are all the restaurants getting food needed to serve customers while food shortages are going on in grocery stores? (gallon, parties)

[Hemlock140]

I've just been to our local supermarket, and while I didn't hit every aisle, the only empty shelves I saw were in the cat food section.

[Mikala43]

OP, what food is it that you can't get?

[take57]

Originally Posted by Somnifor

No they don't. Sysco is widely viewed as the worst broadline purveyor in my market in terms of price/quality. Good restaurants buy their produce and meat from specialty purveyors that focus on those. They buy high end niche items like good cheese, prosciutto, guanciale, etc from purveyors that specialize in that sort of thing. They will buy direct from farms and fishermen whenever possible. They use broadline purveyors like Sysco or US Foods only for bulk items like sugar, salt, paper goods and common condiments. In Minnesota Sysco is expensive and not very good, US Foods is cheaper and higher quality for that sort of thing. The only ones who use Sysco here are chains that are locked into nationwide purchasing contracts.

100% accurate.

[take57]

Originally Posted by elan

Well that's interesting. I see Sysco trucks pulled up to the four star restaurant in the resort town we frequent
It is in the mountains so maybe that's the only company they can get to go up there.

It's not so much that they are there, it's what products they are unloading...

[Mikala43]

I had to go into to Walmart to get a few things, and noticed a lot of the shelves had empty spaces.

Then I noticed pallets of product EVERYWHERE, so that was less of product shortage and more of an employee shortage.

[mojo101]

Some of your wholesalers also sell on AMZN marketplace,eg breaded chicken stuffed with brocoli and cheese,chicken cordon bleu,you have to buy large quantity,

[Buckeye77]

Originally Posted by elan

Well that's interesting. I see Sysco trucks pulled up to the four star restaurant in the resort town we frequent
It is in the mountains so maybe that's the only company they can get to go up there.

FYI - SYSCO sales, even in a Covid market, are about a Billion dollars a week. That's more than twice the size of US Foods. As you can see on here, being #1 in anything means they are targets of jealousy and envy. Kinda like the NY Yankees.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of SYSCO's founders, John Baugh, about 30 years ago. A genuine Texas gentleman.

[ClaraC]

I've seen spotty shortages in retail stores, and in restaurants. In Houston, a friend couldn't get a standard tire for his honda civic, and had to wait a week for it to come in from Nashville.

I tried to order my favorite - fried mushrooms - from a restaurant I go to often, and they had to substitute fried pickles because they couldn't get mushrooms, and I saw a guy at a grocery store purchase an entire LARGE bin of broccoli. Obviously he was buying for a restaurant.
Things are still spotty.

[Charlie&Rose]

Originally Posted by Buckeye77

FYI - SYSCO sales, even in a Covid market, are about a Billion dollars a week. That's more than twice the size of US Foods. As you can see on here, being #1 in anything means they are targets of jealousy and envy. Kinda like the NY Yankees.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of SYSCO's founders, John Baugh, about 30 years ago. A genuine Texas gentleman.

So you met a Sysco founder 30 years ago...wow.. Sysco is an evil giant...just like Walmart.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by Mikala43

I had to go into to Walmart to get a few things, and noticed a lot of the shelves had empty spaces.

Then I noticed pallets of product EVERYWHERE, so that was less of product shortage and more of an employee shortage.

Yeah, that's my general impression. Every time for months there's always something that's short at the store but usually the next time I go back it's a different something. Last week was meat. First I was planning on roast a chicken, no chickens. Next was chicken parts but I'm picky about that. They had a few discount packs thighs/drumsticks from the extra hormone and saline injection brands. Off to go look at fish. $9/pound for some sad looking freeze and thaw mushy tilapia or swordfish for $30 was about it there. Off to check the pork chops, nope no pork chops. They had plenty of beef though so I got overpriced chuck roast and made stew instead. Can't really go wrong with a good beef stew.