What To Buy — And What To Skip — At a Restaurant Supply Store

One of the biggest revelations of my adult life was that anyone can just… walk into a restaurant supply store. I'd always assumed there was some sort of rigorous vetting process to confirm that you, in fact, owned a restaurant before you were permitted to shop there. A few years ago I started a restaurant job where I needed all of my own tools, but I couldn't afford to drop hundreds of dollars at regular retailers, so the sous chef suggested I shop at the local restaurant supply store. Once I got in there, I was like a kid in a candy store. With everything being so inexpensive and such a huge selection, I went on a wild kitchen tool shopping spree. While I got many tools I needed for work that I still currently have in my knife roll, I also learned a few important lessons about the dos and don'ts of smartly shopping at the restaurant supply store.

If you live in a medium to large city, chances are, you probably even have a more than one restaurant supply store near you. If not, there are some great online retailers like Webstaurant Store that offer all of the things you'd find at a brick and mortar. Whichever way you shop, you can save big by taking this route to source certain kitchen tools. Here are the basics of what to buy and what to bypass at a restaurant supply store.

The Heck Yeses

Tongs

The first item I beeline for the second I walk into a restaurant supply store is always the tongs. The price markup on kitchen tongs sold at retailers geared towards home cooks is absolutely wild to me. Some restaurant supply stores have pairs as cheap as 75 cents! I usually pick from the "mid-tier" brands that generally run about two or three bucks a pair — and I always grab a couple of different sizes. Some are great for your regular stovetop cooking, some are great for grilling, all are a good deal.

Deli Containers

The most important tool I've snagged from a professional kitchen environment and brought into my home kitchen are plastic deli containers. These are clear, plastic cylindrical storage containers that come in several sizes, but you most commonly see them in pint and quart sizes. They are an absolute game-changer if you've ever fought the uphill battle against the chaos of your food storage container drawer. Deli containers all have the same lid regardless of size and nest within each other for compact storage. The dreaded hunt for a matching lid lid is instantly and completely eliminated. You can buy entire sleeves of each size plus lids for just a few dollars.

Sheet Trays

The other day I was browsing a certain homeware store's website, and I saw a baking sheet (A.K.A. a sheet tray) for $22. Twenty-two dollars. For one. You could pick up four for that price at most restaurant supply stores, and still have a few bucks left over to scoop up an extra pair of tongs. Pretty much every kitchen needs at least one or two, and there's no functional difference between the pricey ones and the ones you can buy at your restaurant supply store.

Metal Bowls

While I am admittedly among the first to impulse-buy some cute vintage Pyrex bowls (solely because they'd look nice on my counter), the most practical bowls are the nesting metal bowls your guaranteed to find in every restaurant kitchen — and of course, at every restaurant supply store. They come in sizes perfect for holding a teaspoon of salt, all the way up to a bowl large enough to comfortably mix up a commercial kitchen-sized batch of bread dough. (Oh, and literally EVERY size in between.) For home, I usually have 1.5-, 2-, and 4-quart sizes, all of which will run you about $2 or $3 each at most supply stores. Some of the smaller ones used for portioning or as ingredient bowls can even be as inexpensive as 50 cents each.

The Definitely Nots

Knives

First off, the restaurant supply store does have good knives. The downside is that knives are like wands, everyone has their own specific set of needs for their tool. Most knives at the restaurant supply store are heavy-duty tools meant for commercial prepping which, by nature, generally means that they are larger and heftier than what most home cooks need. That, or they are cheap and you get what you pay for. Kitchen knives are an area where cheaper is often an indicator of inferior quality. I myself learned this very valuable lesson with a $40 knife from my local restaurant supply store and a particularly wiley butternut squash. You are much better off finding a knife that suits your needs from a retailer that only sells kitchen knives for home use. You'll end up with a tool with much better longevity and that suits your specific needs for a reasonable price.

Cleaning Supplies

This is a big one. Commercial cleaning supplies are no joke and even though it's tempting to want to buy extra-strong cleaning products for home use, you are far better off buying the regular goods you find in the grocery store. Most commercial cleaning supplies are highly concentrated and can be extremely dangerous if used incorrectly. Neither a good deal nor the prospect of extra-squeaky clean floors is worth the risk of a chemical burn or accidental poisoning.

Food

We have all fallen victim to an irresistible deal on seeing some ingredient available in bulk at a steal of a price. However, I learned a particularly painful lesson on a 5-pound bag of almond flour that I ended up having to throw away. I am always one for a good deal but the food at most restaurant supply stores is meant for well… restaurants. Most items are sold in containers that are too large for a home cook to reasonably go through before the food spoils. Additionally, most food products you'd find at a restaurant supply store are shelf-stable and processed — valued for their volume and not necessarily their quality. You're better off scoring a good deal at your local wholesale club or just shopping the sales on smaller quantities.

Dinnerware

One of my favorite aisles to browse at the restaurant supply store is the dinnerware aisle. I love all the beautiful plates and bowls but beware, while it's easy to get sucked in by the price or the instagram worthy designs, this dinnerware is not made for home use. More often than not, restaurant dinnerware is made to be much heavier and more durable than the ones made for home use. This, coupled with the fact that these dishes are made with restaurant dishwashers in mind, means that they're hard to wash due to their size and shape, and they're easy to drop because of their weight. All in all, you'll be happier in the long run with dinnerware made with your needs in mind.

Related:

• 8 Game-changing Ingredients To Buy at an Italian Grocery Store
• A Beginner's Guide to Shopping at Restaurant Depot
• 8 Food Storage Secrets to Borrow From Chefs
• 5 Pantry Staples You Should Be Buying at Restaurant Depot