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In case you haven’t already heard, National Event Supply will be exhibiting in Booth #340/441 October 27 & 28th 2013 at the BC Connect Show, BC’s largest foodservice and hospitality industry event which brings together thousands of food, drink and lodging decision makers. In our previous blog post, we highlighted the Five Reasons to Attend the BC Connect Show. With the BC Connect Show less than a week away, we thought it made sense to showcase what to expect to see from National Event Supply at the trade show.

With the addition of our warehouse in the Vancouver area, we can more easily, quickly and cost-effectively ship many of our products to BC, Alberta and the surrounding areas. Because of this, we’re able to showcase the following items at the show:

If you’re interested in getting a quote on some of our tabletop items, request a quote here. We look forward to seeing you at the show!

Often blocks in creativity can be likened to writers block. When I experience a block to creativity or writer’s block, I often find that reviewing inspirational content helps to stimulate my creativity. I find this generally works (at least for me) because it allows me to take a step back from my day-to-day life and examine the current problem from a different angle.

With the competitiveness of the restaurant and catering industry, introducing new and exciting products onto the market can be the catalyst needed to differentiate from the competition and thrive. Finding sparks of genius can sometimes be daunting – so without further ado, I’d like to share with you the 2 TED talk videos I think are fascinating, awe inspiring (in some cases) and cause you to take a step back and evaluate your menu from a different angle.

First, David Kelley suggests that creativity is not the domain of only a chosen few but something everyone can do – to turn fear into familiarity and build confidence to create

And my personal favourite, Homaro Cantu + Ben Roche, of Chicago’s Moto restaurant, play with new ways to cook and eat food that is beyond fun and flavour-tripping.

I hope these video offer some inspiration. Make sure to send myself and the NES team some samples of your new inventions.

As a banquet hall, event venue, caterer or party rental company, buying plastic folding tables for your events can be a daunting task. With so many different manufacturers and retailers out there selling folding tables, how can you be sure you’re getting high quality, durable, commercial-grade plastic folding tables that allow you to rent out or use for adequate return on investment?

Because it can be overwhelming to settle on a specific plastic folding table supplier, we've put together a checklist of 4 of the 8 most important questions to ask before buying plastic folding tables.

1. How much weight can the plastic folding tables hold?

When holding events that utilize plastic folding tables, they need to be able to withstand the expected and unexpected. Perhaps you're using them for a buffet so the tables will be holding chafing dishes, beverage tubs, stacks of commercial dinnerware, and cutlery stations. Perhaps your staff during clean up loads the plastic folding tables full of dishes. Make sure to look for a plastic folding table that can hold a minimum of 700-1000lbs and that the supplier can show proof of its sturdiness.

2. What kind of locking mechanism is underneath the table?

There's great debate over which locking mechanism—snap lock or gravity lock—makes the most sense for folding tables. We're not going to get involved in the grate debate—one customer that loves snap locks, hates gravity locks while another loves gravity and hates snap. Just make sure that when you're purchasing tables that you’re aware of which lock is available so you're prepared for what to expect.

Snap locks are as their name would suggest and snap with some effort into place. These can be really secure assuming they’re properly deployed. Some don’t lock it in all the way and then wonder why the table folds so make sure you hear that it clicks into place.

A gravity lock, on the other hand, is a ring that slides down the table leg frame and locks the leg in place. It acts as an extra safety so that table legs don’t unintentionally fold. Gravity locks can make setting up and disassembling tables more difficult for some.

3. What gauge are the table legs?

Folding tables have a different gauge (thickness) of steel depending on the table use and quality. 19 Gauge steel table legs could be classified as economy table legs because 18 gauge is lighter and less expensive than the thicker gauges.

17 Gauge steel table legs are of commercial quality and extremely suitable for foodservice, and party rental businesses looking for both durability, affordability and higher quality table legs. Make sure you find out what gauge of table leg the tables you’re planning to buy offer – so you know what you’re getting and what uses they’ll be find for.

4. How much do the plastic folding tables weigh?

While weight may not be important if you plan the tables to stay in one place however, if you're going to be moving them to events weight becomes an increasingly important variable. Plastic folding tables come in a number of different shapes and sizes so their weight will vary depending on this. Most commercial plastic folding tables range in weight from 20lbs to 70lbs.

To view the last 4 most important questions to ask before buying plastic folding tables check out part two of the series here!

Over the years the standard plywood folding table sizes have grown in popularity for us.  With this success we have continually listened to our customers to find new sizes and styles of tables to add to our product catalogue.  The latest additions to hit our shelves are the following items:

• 66” NES Round Wood Folding Table
• 6-ft Rectangle Wood Folding Table Legs
• 8-ft Rectangle Wood Folding Table Legs
• 60” Wood Round Folding Table
• Wood Folding Table Feet

National Event Supply has offered a standard range of wood folding tables for several years now.  In both the plywood tables and plastic tables, the popularity of the 60” Round is undeniable.  It's a great size that suits many different situations extremely well and is a popular table option to fit an 8 person meal on (see Why I Love Round Folding Tables: Better Conversations). But what if you are looking for something that fits 10 people for a meal?  And what if you are looking to optimize your space? If that's the case you should consider our new 66" plywood round folding tables! They don't take up quite as much space as our 72" plywood round folding tables but can still seat 10 people for dinner. Additionally the 66" wood round folding table is less expensive than the 72" wood round folding table.

Have you ever lost the feet on any of your tables? Have you had troubles finding replacements?  Well look no further, National Event Supply is now stocking replacement feet for wood folding tables. They really are the perfect addition to our ever growing selection of parts. So what tables do they fit? They fit all NES Plywood Folding Tables and many other wood folding tables that use 1" diameter tubing for the legs. Unlike the plastic folding tables and plastic folding chairs that use feet that surround the bottom of the leg, the wood folding table feet actually fit inside the steel tube. If any of your tables are missing feet, be sure to give us a call before they scratch your floors!

The final product that we have added to our line-up this go around is the 6-ft Rectangle Wood Folding Table Legs, 8-ft Rectangle Wood Folding Table Legs, and 60” Wood Round Folding Table. If you are familiar with National Event Supply products you may have noticed that we actually currently offer these products however they are slightly different than the new offering. Unlike the current offering that has a gravity lock to keep them in place, the new legs have a snap lock to hold them in place. The snap lock solution is idea for the rental industry and other customers that need to move their tables on a regular basis. The gravity lock is great when the table is in place but when you are folding up the table it can often fall back into the locked position, making the fold up process somewhat frustrating for some people. The replacement legs are ideal for people looking to build their own tables or someone that already has damaged the legs on one of their existing wood folding tables.

Being officially in the last quarter of the year, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the trends we've been seeing in the 2013 season and present some of my thoughts towards what we at National Event Supply see for the 2014 bar season

2013: The year of the variety, glassware & bottled cocktails

This year has brought about some exciting trends. We’ve seen a greater variety of beer being sampled with pale ales and lagers no longer being the staple beverage of choice – making way for wheat beers, fruit ales and much more. Along with the greater variety being sampled, we’ve seen a greater reliance on glassware. Beer glasses have seen a huge comeback-no longer can a beer be sampled in a singular glass but more and more bars/restaurants are taking a hint from European establishments and serving beer in properly branded and stylized beer glass.

On the cocktail front there’s been a trend towards making the traditional cocktails such as cosmopolitans, margaritas and mojitos, available in bottles for personal consumption instead of having to hit a bar to get a delectable drink in a 7oz martini glass.

2014: The year of sparkling bubbly, innovative cocktails and the continuance of craft beer

Over the course of 2013, there`s been a large amount of sparkling wines that have popped onto the beverage scene – perfect for our Serenity Crystal Champagne Flute. Locally produced sparkling wines seem to be popular as well and are taking the place of normal table wines, or its counterpart Champagne as a toasting beverage.

Innovative cocktails continue with dessert cocktails making their way to the scene. Without having to imbibe in their higher calorie counterparts, tasters can whet their sweet tooth with dessert cocktails such as Lemon Cream Pie Martini’s, Tiramisu cocktails or Strawberry shortcake.

Craft beers should continue to pick up steam with the “shop local” trend continuing to be a main food trend. With thousands of breweries across the country, and new brew master’s opening doors every day, this spells a plethora of different styles to sample. In Ontario, the LCBO does a great job of highlighting the different craft beers available for Ontarian’s – often showcasing different breweries across Canada both in-store, in advertising and in their fabulous Food & Drink magazine.

Got a trend you think will be big through the start or all of 2014? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re interested in receiving samples of our glassware, or want a quote on some of our glassware, contact us for more information.