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Can anyone recommend a good restaurant supply store in Chicago?

I used to live in nyc, where there were about two dozen great restaurant supply stores lining Bowery. Is there a cluster of stores hiding somewhere in Chicago? I've noticed what looks like a restaurant supply store on Division St (east of 90/94), but I haven't checked it out yet.

In case this information is useful: I'm just looking for somewhere to buy miscellaneous kitchen stuff, like Cambro's clear plastic storage containers, etc.

Thanks!

You'll find a number of them on Madison, just west of Morgan in the West Loop. There are also a few on Lake Street in the same general area. Happy hunting.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I swear by Edward Don, particularly for dirt-cheap canning supplies and oddments of all sorts. From eatchicago.net:

I ususally head to the GFS Marketplace, which is operated by the Gordon Food Service people. They have a lot of your standard issue commercial kitchen supplies. They do not carry huge collections of upscale utensils.

http://gfs.know-where.com/gfs/cgi/selection?state-map=IL&country=us&mapid=us&place=chicago&region=


Hope that helps.

Wow - this is GREAT info - THANK YOU! I'm looking forward to making a trip out to Don's soon.

**Edited to add that Don has a website! www.don.com

I've also noticed that a few Sams Club stores are carrying some restaurant supplies such as pots, pans, cutlery, table linens, storage containers, cooking utensils, etc.

I did a search on other restaurant supply stores in the city and came across this article on Don's and Krasny's.
http://www.toomanychefs.net/archives/001280.html

Krasny & Company
2829 N. Clybourn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
773-477-5504 Fax: 773-477-5512

Edward Don Outlet Store
2525 N Elston Ave
Chicago IL
60647-2000
773-489-7739

Don't forget about the places I mentioned on Madison. I think that as a "civilian" you will find much better pricing than Don.

_________________
Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Edward Don and the Madison St. stores are good, at least interesting, places. The Gold bros. store perhaps the largest and most prominent. I've dropped in at many of the stores in the list at http://thecityofchicago.com/restaurant-supply/

Still, I remember fondly my short trip to Philly last year. The restaurant supply stores there were great. I almost missed my flight browsing Fantes - Wow, what a store!

In addition to Edward Don, I would also suggest Northwest Cutlery. Dispite what the name may suggest, they don't just carry knives.

Northwest Cutlery
810 W. Lake St.
http://www.nwcutlery.com/

OK, does anyone know if any of these places you mentioned have restaurant-style fiestaware? I need to replace some bowls and it's often cheaper this way than going to a department store.

PS. If you go to Don's, make sure to check out the back room that's mentioned. The front is only marginally restaurant supply - it's more of a kitchen widget store, albeit with better widgets - but not really restaurant-specific. If you're looking for cheap dishware/silverware, or cooking supplies, that stuff is in the back. Bring kevlar gloves if you're looking for silverware - it's all in one big box - I've cut myself more than once.

There are also a number of restaurant supply stores on Randolph west of Halsted. Several have signs discouraging non-trade buyers (such as, "No browsing"), but I'm not sure how serious they are about those prohibitions.

I have found non-pros can buy at at west loop locations - but they like cash. Also, I love Don's beause they always have a gimmicky sale going on. But the west loop shops have the restaurant size utensils and pots that are just so much fun. I know they won't even fit on my regular stove, but those HUGE stock pots look like the cartoons of cannibals cooking hunters with pith helmets!

Anyone know about the supply place on Harlem near Caputo's?

Update to this one.

We sought out a good restaurant supply store today as we were looking for some non-staples at cheap prices. Really trying to find some of the stuff listed in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dinin ... .html?_r=1

Northwest Cutlery was our first stop. After reading some rather high remarks("An institution of Chicago") we were excited. The store lives up to its claim of having an absurd amount of knives and an awesome ability to sharpen them at a reasonable price while you are there. However, their selection of items was mild compared to what I was looking for. They carry some high end brands (Le Creuset, Henkels, All-Clad, etc...) but what I was looking for was more along the lines of $8 omelet pans, $2 wooden spoons, $4 mixing bowls, etc... Unfortunately they were not as cheap as I was hoping. I do believe this is THE spot for knives, but for the absurdly cheap staples we were looking for it did not do the trick.

Next stop for us was Herzog Store Fixture Company located somewhat close to Northwest down in the west loop. Now this store was exactly what we were looking for. They had everything from restaurant ranges, warmers, serving counters to an entire collection of the wares we needed for the kitchen. The difference was the pricing. They had everything and mostly at great prices (for what you are getting). For example, if you got ambitious and decided you wanted to make Veal stock and needed a HUGE pot, but didn't want to drop $300 heavy on it, this would be a good place to pick one up at a reasonable price. Omelet pans started around $9 and went up. Squirt bottles $.50. Metal mixing bowls for $3. Etc. Everything from the big wooden things you take pizzas in and out of the oven with to cheap (as in affordable) plastic cutting boards (still thick enough they wouldn't warp). Going to a place like this blows your mind when you think that Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma is selling the same stuff but at 4-5X the price.

Overall I would say if you are looking to add some pieces to your kitchen Herzog is a GREAT place to checkout.

If you need your knives sharpened, new knives or are looking for some great high end cookware bought locally, Northwestern is the spot.

Northwestern Cutlery and Supply.
810 W Lake Street
(between Green St & Halsted St)
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 421-3666


Herzog Store Fixture Company
1034 W Madison Street
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 666-2600

Thanks for the update and for bringing this thread back to life. I have a list of places I collected, but haven't visited any of them yet. Anyone have info on the following:

Alliance 913 W Randolph
C+R Equipment 1882 S Normal

The others I have listed have been mentioned here I think: NW Cutlery, Krasny, and Chicago Food Corp (which I think is the Korean place? Belmont and Kedzie).

Coincidentally, I was in Alliance today, a terrific no frills place to buy napkins, plates, forks, bags, aluminum holding pans and all sorts of paper items. I almost bought, but somehow passed on, 1000 sporks for $10.

I also stopped in Herzog and Northwestern Cutlery which are two of my favorites, in particular Northwestern, and much as jpeac2 nicely describes.

Enjoy,
Gary

Alliance Paper & Food Services
913 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-666-6424
www.allpfs.com

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Paper items like cake boxes in reasonable quantities?

I wasn't in the market for cake boxes, and many of the items are not on clear display. I'd guess yes, but strongly suggest you call Alliance and ask.

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Thank you for reviving this thread - I'm looking forward to a trip to scour more kitchen toys.

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Check out What's Cookin, Chicago! or come and join us around town!

I recognize that name as one of the places I shopped for my stuff back in 1980.

I'm sorry to hear you passed up on the sporks. One of my weirdest purchases was 10000 (yep 10 thousand) twist ties. I don't remember what I paid but it wasn't more than 5 bucks. I do NOT know what possessed me to think I needed all those twist ties.

If you are looking for a good source south of Chicago, I recommend Lippert Inc. They have been around for as long as I can remember & I used to love going in there as a kid & just checking everything out. Now I find it impossible to go in there without picking up at least a few items, whether I need them or not.

Lippert Inc.
600 W 172nd St
South Holland, IL,
60473-2719
Phone: 708-333-6900
Toll Free: 800-536-4040

http://www.lippertinc.com

The place on Division that the OP mentioned is Restaurant Depot/Jetro. It is a cash and carry wholesale place so you need a tax ID to purchase anything. When I was going to CHIC I could show them my student ID and they would give me a day pass which allowed me to purchase items, so any culinary students may want to check if their schools have a similar arrangement. And the Edward Don Outlet on Elston that was mentioned early on in this thread is now gone.

Dale, you beat me to the punch. I was also going to suggest Lippert's. I've been shopping there for years myself. They are family owned and go out of their way to please their customers.

Suzy

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" There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life."
- Frank Zappa

Does anyone know of any restaurant supply stores out in the western burbs (Aurora, Naperville, Geneva, etc)? I'm looking for plastic squeeze bottles for condiments and thin wire racks that you can put in the oven to elevate what you are cooking off the pan.

I think you can find these items @ Schweppes in Lombard on North Avenue just east of I-355 or Route 53.

Schweppes
376 W. North Avenue
Lombard, IL.


www.schweppeinc.com

_________________
I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Not exactly a food place, but you can find all sorts of odd plastic bottles at American Science and Surplus in Geneva on Rt 38 just east of Kirk. It's one of my favorite places to shop for unusual stuff.

I'm getting ready to outfit a new apartment with everything cooking-related. I realized the other day that my current roommate owned ALL the cookware, dishes, etc...(sure, they suck, but still....).

Restaurant supply stores are definitely the way I want to go. All I want are durable, effective items, with no frills, at an affordable price, such as:

Dinnerware
Flatware
Basic cutlery (restaurant quality, plastic-handled is fine)
Pots, saucepans, a few heavy skillets, and a few non-stick
Kitchen accessories (cutting board, whisk, spatula, etc.)

Do y'all think it is possible to get everything I need at a single store, like Herzog, or am I better off hitting certain stores for certain items?

Echoing the sentiments of many posters, I recommend hitting Northwestern Cutlery for your knives.

Forschner is a lower priced brand (relative to the Wustof, Shun, etc) with either rosewood or plastic handles and NW Cutlery has a great selection. We have the bread knife, paring knife, and steak knives, all bought from NW. They work great. Also, Cooks Illustrated / America's Test Kitchen has consistently rated Forschner as their best value knife brand. The price for the quality can't be beat.