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We recently received a shipment featuring a number of new event tablecloths to add to our expanding inventory. Last year we introduced spandex cocktail table covers to our customer base and have continued adding additional colours to that product offering – now totaling 11 colours in stock. Companies who exhibit at trade shows, trade show decorators, corporations, party rental companies, event venues, hotels and golf courses have all taken advantage of the spandex cocktail table covers.

When we began planning for the new products to introduce for 2015 we decided that we wanted to continue expanding our spandex table cover product line. With that in mind, I’m pleased to introduce our new Spandex Table Toppers for wood and plastic cruiser tables.

The Spandex Table Toppers come in 9 different colours (Black, White, Ivory, Forest Green, Navy, Orange, Burgundy, Champagne, and Royal Blue) and are $10.50 each. Designed to fit a cruiser or cocktail table with a tabletop diameter of 30 inches to 32 inches, these spandex cocktail table toppers are perfect to extend the life of your existing spandex cocktail table covers or add a pop of colour to complement an event’s décor. They would also be perfect for corporations attending trade shows to show off their brand colours.

Table skirts are a staple for almost all tradeshows, banquet halls / event venues, hotels, golf courses and party rental companies. They work well for all registration desks, coat checks, exhibitor booths, buffet stations etc. If you’ve already been buying table skirts then this post isn’t really for you – unless you’re not happy with your original supplier. If you’re in the market to purchase table skirts, one of the most common things asked is where to buy table skirts in Canada? This post will round up 5 other suppliers besides National Event Supply, who also sell table skirts in Canada.

1. Textilehouse Canada

Based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Textilehouse Canada is a supplier of premium chair covers, table overlays, and other event linens in Canada. They also can work on custom-made products upon request.

2. Displays2Go.ca

Based in Rhode Island, Displays 2 go recently created a Canadian website to service Canada. Shipments still come from the US but pricing is all based in Canadian dollars. Displays2go.ca has the largest inventory that I know of tradeshow and display related products.

3. Canadian Hotel Supply

With several American locations, Canadian Hotel Supply is owned by American Hotel Register co, and co-leases warehouse space in Toronto and Vancouver to offer hotels, restaurants and other companies with table linens, table skirts and other foodservice & hospitality supplies.

4. Linen Tablecloth

While they are based in the United States, LinenTablecloth has a Canadian ecommerce site that allows event venues and others purchasing table skirts direct from their website. Shipping is out of Memphis, Tennessee and they will pay brokerage and duties associated with linens crossing the United States/Canada border (often a surprise cost associated with shipping linens from the US).

5. Sysco Guest Supply

Owned by foodservice giant Sysco, Sysco Guest Supply focuses on the hospitality sector only offering guest amenities, textiles and housekeeping products. No pricing or product selection is available online however they mention they have a wide array of colours and sizes of tablecloths and napkins which includes table skirts.

Hopefully one of these companies (if not us!) can help you find the table skirts you need.

There’s a constant debate in the foodservice industry over gas ranges vs electric ranges: what’s better, what has more problems, what costs what and so on. While we don’t actually sell commercial restaurant ranges, we sell restaurant tabletop supplies to restaurants across Canada and want to add value to our customers’ lives. Based on conversations with our customer’s the answer to what’s a better cooking method is: it depends. It depends on a chef’s upbringing, training, kitchen set up, restaurant menu and personal preference. To clarify, we’ll be talking about a range as commercial restaurant equipment which includes an oven + stovetop. What we’ll attempt to do in this post is share an unbiased pro and con list of commercial gas ranges versus commercial electric ranges so you can determine what makes the most sense for your back of the house needs.

Commercial Gas Ranges

Photo Source: Vulcan

Manufacturers include Garland, Wolf, Cooking Performance Group, Bakers Pride, Imperial, Vulcan and Southbend.

• Multiple configuration options including ovens, storage cabinets, griddles, broilers, and salamanders
• Available in 20” to 72” width
• 2-12 burners
• 0-2 ovens

Pros:

• More even stovetop heat for cooking
• Easy to gauge the precise level of heating on burners
• Less expensive to operate
• Instant, constant heat on burners

Cons:

• Can be more costly to install if gas line isn’t already there
• Higher risk of gas leaks
• Pilot light starters burn more gas than electronic starters as pilot lights are constantly burning blue flame near the burner. If the gas range has a pilot light starter, it would be more costly to operate and therefore a “con”
• Gas ovens produce a humid heat making it less optional for dry roasting

Commercial Electric Range

Photosource: Toastmaster

Manufacturers include Toastmaster, Garland, and Vulcan.

• Multiple configuration options including ovens, storage cabinets, griddles, and broilers
• Available in 36” to 60” width
• 6-10 burners

Pros:

• Easier to install
• Less costly to install
• Generally less expensive to purchase
• Easier to clean
• Dry Oven heat best for roasting
• Even heat distribution in oven for baking

Cons:

• Subject to power outages
• Stovetop slower to cool when turned off
• Stovetop slower to heat up when turned on
• More expensive to operate as it takes 3 times as much energy to produce and delivery electricity to your range than gas

For those unfamiliar with our stress test series, we work in an industry that’s in a race to the lowest price possible. When the owners initially bought National Event Supply that was the original strategy taken – however, it became increasingly clear that in order to have the lowest price possible, products have to be specked down in. As a company, we want to be proud of the products we sell and so we decided to focus on quality products at a good price for their value instead of on price itself. But in an industry filled with products that look like our products, but don’t perform like our products how could we show people how strong and durable our products really were? Enter the stress test series.

In the past, we’ve tested a number of our plastic and wood banquet tables including our 60 inch round resin folding table. Because we stock both wood and plastic banquet tables, our most recent stress test is on its wood counterpart – our wood 60 inch round folding table. Take a look below at the results of this stress test video!

If you’re interested in a quote for our 60 inch round resin or wood folding table including shipping to your location:

Here at National Event Supply, we are on a mission. A mission to provide high quality event equipment at fair prices. When we first decided that this was the strategy we were going to take to market, we asked ourselves how we could show potential customers that our products were durable and sourced on quality rather than the lowest cost. We found out how to show people their quality by performing our own stress tests in house and since then we’ve completed over 20 videos on different products we sell.

Today’s post is on our new dark fruitwood wood Chiavari chairs. We wanted to see how they fared when subjected to hundreds of pounds of salt to see if they were a high-quality product for the rental industry to own. We’ve tested our resin Chiavari chairs by walking a 225lb man across the back of one, without breaking. How would wooden Chiavari chairs fare to a stress test? Find out in the video below.

Pretty strong chair right?