I found my Restaurant Depot!!!

Hey everyone!

Finally got out to my (relatively) local Restaurant Depot and signed up. Boy they've got all kinds of good stuff!!

I got my perforated steam pans... my cart came with solid pans. I was concerned I would have to order perforated ones on-line, but I found them there!!!!

I also found that my 12-oz sodas ("pop" for those not in New England) that I've been stocking up on has been a good price!!! So I'll keep on doing what I was doing there.

Found some things that I never thought I'd find... except on-line, so I'm really, REALLY pretty psyched about this place.

BUT, CSD... I totally did NOT like their tongs!!! and they were more money than the ones I've gotten recently that I think were better. Maybe your Restaurant Depot has a better selection than mine did... not much to choose from here.

All in all a good day. I'm STILL awaiting my last (city) vendor's license... which passed the CORI check, and now has to go to a City Board meeting (May 6th!!!!!!) and then to the MAYOR for his signature!!!!! Fortunately, I work with a friend who knows the Mayor, so I'm hoping to be working by the 2nd week in May... we'll see.

Hey Jans, most of the time, Rest. Depot is more expensive than costco, although a lot more fun to shop in. We've found that Costco is cheaper on the hot dogs, and now, especially since last year, the buns. Wonder buns have gone from .90 to 1.45, and the last batch we got sucked, almost stale, broke in half. We go there now for hardware, napkin holders, tongs, etc. Also, BJ's carries a half decent roll, comparable, and their soda is cheaper both bj's and Costcos, than R.D.

Hey there Delta!

Costco (for me) is quite a distance away, and with the cost of gasoline, it's not worth the trip. I have Sam's Club and 2 different BJ's wholesale near me... and then the RD. I found the breads (Calise and Wonder) to be cheaper than at the other stores. I got my napkin holders on Ebay... along with my chip clips. My soda I get at the local Hess gas stations... 2 12-packs for $5.50... and I catch weekly sales for roughly the same price. BJ's has the best price on Gatorade.

None of the suppliers carry a varied selection of GOOD hot dogs... lots of cheap ones. RD only carried Old Neighborhood 8/1s and Heb National 6/1s. One of my BJ's (not both) carry Pearl 6/1 hot dogs. All of them carry the Heb National. None carry Boar's Head (I've requested contact from a local distributor when I called the Boar's Head customer service #)... except for a couple of local grocery stores (retail price).

What I DID find at RD is my perforated steam pans!!!! which I would have had to order on-line and then pay shipping as well... so I saved there. I also found large cans of Sabrett's onion sauce, which around here you cannot find ANYWHERE unless you order from one of the Sabrett's distributors out of NY. But with them, you can't just order the sauce, you have to order them with some kind of package (with hot dogs or with mustard and saurkraut...). I only wanted the sauce. They had 3 cans that were not dented... I took all 3 :)

I didn't care for their selection of tongs... get those on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond for a better price. Been collecting those one-by-one since last fall!

I carry around a clip-board when I go shopping which has side-by-side comparison prices for each of these stores so I know prettymuch who has the best deals on what at any given time. Some of the other customers see me running around and writing on my clip-board and think I work there... It's pretty funny (I usually know where to direct them when they are looking for something).

Anyway, I was just glad to find another place where I could find a few things that are hard to find. I still keep my eyes peeled for bargains... I just wish my closest Costco wasn't 40 miles away!!! or I'd check them out too.

Yea, our Costco is 15 minutes away, we buy kayem hot dogs there, 8-1 for 11.00, we made the trip to RD which is about 20 minutes away, and they're usually about a buck more on everything else, which isnt a problem, but found their stock of hot dogs is inconsistent, sometimes they are there, and sometimes not, so most of our "software" is done at Costco and BJ's. I can see why you wouldnt want to hike 40 miles away, especially with gas prices these days! I definately love RD, they seem to be the only ones that carry Guldens hot mustard!!!