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So has anyone here bought kitchen supplies from a restaurant supply store and can compare the quality with similar items from a department store?
Im in the market for a stainless steel skillet, food mill, digital thermometer (for roasts). My co-worker mentioned to check out a supply store in NYC, which has these items in similar quality and possibly cheaper prices.
Now common wisdom tells me that these items must be godd, if they can take in the day in/day out rigor of a restaurant, but I though i would check around first.
So has anyone here bought kitchen supplies from a restaurant supply store and can compare the quality with similar items from a department store?.
Like anything, there is a good, better and best solution to every piece of equipment. If I go to a restaurant supply place, you'll see some real quality and some cheaper solution. Do realize that there is a wide variety of equipment budgets. I have worked in kitchens where we purchased only the best and other places where we were required to buy the cheapest ( a state hospital).
Having said that and assuming you that you are based in Chicago, the first and easiest place to purchase equipment is at the GFS Marketplace Stores that are throughout the Chicagoland area (as well as WI, MI, IN and OH). There prices are pretty decent and the equipment is generally very good. GFS stands for Gordon Food Service and they are a very reputable supplier based out of Grand Rapids. The only thing that I do not like in their stored are the stock pots which are too thin for my tastes.
Some of the retail stores do a pretty good job. BB&B dones a good job and Kohl's also does a pretty good job and is reasonable. The boycotted store also has a good selection at a pretty steep cost. Also, there are several stores in the outlet mall - especially the two in Huntley also do pretty well,
I try to avoid the high end places like Williams Sonoma, as they are generally very expensive. I will head there occasionally if there is a specialty item that I need bit generally, the prices are 2x higher than I would expect to pay.
One more thing. If you are looking for big equipment, attend a restaurant equipment auction (at a closed restaurant). You will pay about 20 cents on the dollar. These auctions are routinely advertised in the Sunday business section of the Chicago Tribune.
We have an excellent restaurant supply here in Raleigh, and the prices are a LOT cheaper than retail stores For instance, I picked up some sheet pans for $6.95. I saw them elsewhere for anywhere from $12.00 to $20.00. These were heavy-duty pans, excellent quality.
I also got a heavy-duty aluminum pot, 4-quart size, for a lot less than retail. It's oven safe as well, which is a bonus.
Probably the best deal I got (besides the sheet pans) was on a pizza peel. I paid $10 for one, and they offered to cut the handle to the length I wanted. I couldn't fine a peel anywhere around town without it being part of a $30 set (including a stone, which I didn't need). The sell them online, but they cost a lot more.
So yes, I recommend a restaurant supply store. They also have cool little gadgets that you don't always find in regular stores.
Everyone, thanks for your reply. I hit up a supply store yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised, if not a bit intimidated, since its a tiny storefront packed to the gills with restaurant equipment.
While I didnt get a skillet (still researching, though i may end up at a department store for an all-clad or calphelon) i finally snagged a basic pair of heavy duty tongs and bulletproof spatula. I'll be back for sheet pans and cooling racks. This will be my first stop for basic kitchen needs moving forward.
jlawrence - Im actually in NYC, but thanks anyways just in case I make it back to Chicago, which I hope is in the near future. Funny you mention GFS, as I grew up in Grand Rapids and it wasnt until i left did a storefront open up.
jlawrence - Im actually in NYC, but thanks anyways just in case I make it back to Chicago, which I hope is in the near future. Funny you mention GFS, as I grew up in Grand Rapids and it wasnt until i left did a storefront open up.
GFS opened the stores primarily as a way of servicing their wholesale customers. When I forgot to order something for my foodservice business (at that time in Detroit city), I could run down the street, pick up what I needed and charge it to my account with GFS. And that way, GFS did not have to deliver one or two items at a time.
I read a thread here in this forum that many people hate stainless still kitchen equipment, especially tables. I think I hate them too. So I would like to discuss the alternatives then.
Since this thread has been brought back to the top, I will add that there is good equipment available at the restaurant supply stores. It will be plain and functional. You aren't going to find anything with fancy flowers etched in enamel on any of the pans.
Mostly it will be big. I prefer the quarter sheet pans and I have 2 gigantic bowls that I use for mixing salads. I have good utility knifes from there and great big serving spoons that I use frequently.
Often it is not cheaper because the quality is higher. I buy food storage containers there and pay about $10 each for them, I can get them at the super market for about $3. But the $10 ones can go into any rack in the dishwasher, They can be frozen and microwaved, and dropped without breaking, and they are designed to stack without slipping. They can be dropped while they are frozen and they won't break. The $3 containers, on the other hand, break when they are dropped and sometimes the lids break just from being removed from the container, so they don't last long.
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There is a good compromise, I have used restaurant supply stores, when I had a resale license and could buy wholesale. Now we will go to the Costco Business Center. It's about 15 miles away, but they have a full selection of restaurant supplies, and large quantities of foods, much more so than at the regular Costco. It is cheaper than the restaurant supply, but good quality.
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