Blog posts tagged with 'restaurants'

We have been in the special event equipment business since 1992 and have naturally found an easy transition into restaurant supply and catering supply. Since introducing dinnerware and stainless steel flatware back in the middle of the 90’s we have become familiar with the best flatware suppliers in Canada so we’re able to better understand what the market wants in terms of the best flatware. Here are the best flatware suppliers in Canada for party rental companies, restaurants and caterers.

1. Oneida Flatware:

Oneida has long been a leader in the stainless steel flatware industry and as such can charge premium pricing with a solid brand name to back them. Oneida Flatware is manufactured by Oneida and sold through large department and big box stores, through restaurant supply stores such as Hamilton Store Fixtures, and other foodservice distributors.

2. Nella Cutlery:

Nella is a well-known Toronto restaurant supply store who manufactures restaurant equipment and distributes a number of other cutlery manufacturers including Winco, Vollrath, Tableware Solutions as well as our distributing our next supplier, Browne.

3. Browne Foodservice:

Browne & Co has been around for more than 50 years and manufactures stainless steel cutlery along with additional tableware products. They also distribute numerous US and European brands throughout North America.

4. Sysco:

Sysco is a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. Sysco sells 3 different patterns of stainless steel flatware in a 5 pc table setting.

Always make sure that when you’re buying the best flatware, you’re looking at the following:

• The durability of the product
• The value of the product
• The quality of the product
• The availability of the product

Throughout the party rental, restaurant and foodservice industry there is always talk about porcelain dinnerware, china dinnerware, and ceramic dinnerware. But ever wondered what the difference is between the three different terms? This blog post will clear up any confusion related to the term porcelain, china and ceramic.

The formal definition of china dinnerware is a fine white or translucent vitrified ceramic material. The word was originally founded to refer to where “china” was originally made – the country China. Chinese china dinnerware dates back to the 1600 – 1046BC range and it wasn’t until the 16th century, when Chinese porcelains were held in such high esteem in Europe that the word china became a commonly used synonym for the term Porcelain. China dishes are made by heating kaolin clay (among other materials) to temperatures between 1200C – 1400C which bring out the durability, strength and translucence of the material. Note that china dinnerware is not to be confused with fine china or bone china dinnerware which is a separate category comprised of clay and bone ash.

The formal definition of porcelain dinnerware is a white vitrified translucent ceramic; china. The word porcelain came into existence (according to the Oxford Dictionary) in the mid-16th century from the French word porcelaine and Italian word porcellana. One could argue the word came into existence once European companies started producing china / porcelain as a way to distinguish the location where the dinnerware was made.

The formal definition of ceramic dinnerware is “made of clay and permanently hardened by heat”. As both china and porcelain includes this as part of their definitions, one can consider ceramic to be interchangeably used with porcelain and china dinnerware.

Continuing on our blog series answering our customers’ and prospects’ questions, today’s question deals with the question: Can I buy bulk products from National Event Supply?

The short answer: Yes of course!

The long answer: Because we sell to party rental companies that can take 100s of folding tables, thousands of plastic folding chairs in bulk, and hundreds of dozens of bulk dishes or bulk cutlery, we have three warehouses in Canada to ensure we’re able to meet all bulk purchases. While we can’t foresee all large quantity orders, we do our best to ensure we have stock of our products when our customers require them.

Not only that, but because of this and how we like to encourage bulk purchases we offer on certain products the ability to receive volume discounts. On items such as folding tables, plastic folding chairs, bistro chairs, Chiavari chairs, and our white resin folding chairs we offer volume discounts that allows prices per product to decrease as the quantity increases.

Restaurant dishes are the main staple of the tabletop to best showcase an executive chef's creations. Finding restaurant dinnerware in Canada that accents your plating while at the same time affordable is a huge plus. Most restaurants we cater to tend to want to spend more money on the wine and food that will be presented at their location and who can blame them. If restaurants stick to buying restaurant dishes that are white dinnerware, these will be the easiest to replace, will allow your chef to experiment to his/her heart's content with food plating and will perfectly accent any style of interior décor the front of the house has. Because restaurant dishes tend to exist in an environment where accidents happen such as servers dropping plates, or dishwashers stacking plates too high, making sure you’re choosing restaurant dishes that are matching the demands of the restaurant or easily replaced at an affordable price will ensure the most success.

We’ve rounded up a list of companies who excel in restaurant supply that we would consider competitors of ours. All of these restaurant supply stores feature affordable restaurant dishes that any restaurant could use to form the basis of their menu offerings. Here are the 4 restaurant supply stores:

1. Webstaurant.com:

Based in Lancaster, PA, they are a leading restaurant supply store providing restaurant supplies and equipment to the foodservice industry and individual customers worldwide. The WEBstaurant store sells restaurant equipment, smallwares, storage & transport, tabletop, disposables, restaurant furniture including folding restaurant tables, washing & laundry, restaurant dinnerware, consumables as well as janitorial supplies. They are an ecommerce company that regularly ship to Canada however do not include duties and taxes in the shipping fees – which are billed from their shipping courier to your restaurant.

2. Pacific Restaurant Supply:

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pacific Restaurant Supply delivers custom designed stainless solutions, restaurant design & build and foodservice equipment and restaurant supply inventory. They are a brick and mortar company with a showroom in Vancouver and the ability to contact them via their website but no way to view their multitudes of products.

3. Canadian Restaurant Supply Ltd.:

Located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canadian Restaurant Supply is a full service supplier of tableware, smallwares, glassware, cutlery, restaurant dishes, restaurant furniture and equipment. They also offer planning & design help for restaurants starting fresh or in need of a change. They offer an online ecommerce website for easy viewing of their products and buying.

4. Hamilton Store Fixtures Ltd.:

Located in Hamilton, Ontario, they have been distributing for over 70 years glassware, china, cutlery, candles, kitchen utensils, janitorial supplies, serving accessories and commercial cooking equipment. They have a traditional website with no ecommerce functionalities and a separate online ecommerce retail store.

So there are 4 companies to consider if you’re getting quotes or pricing for your restaurant. While our primary target market has traditionally been selling wholesale event equipment such as dinnerware, flatware, folding tables & folding chairs to the party rental industry, more and more restaurants are seeing the value in extending their budgets with accessory porcelain pieces such as serverware from us.

Folding tables are the key investment for event venues or party rental companies who stock event inventory for customers. One of the most common questions brought up when searching to buy folding tables is "How much do folding tables cost in Canada?" Because we want to make sure we’re answering any potential prospect’s questions, we’ve answered that question in the post below.

Not an uncommon commodity, you can find folding tables at just about any big box store these days. Note that in this blog post when we talk about folding tables, we aren’t referring to residential-use tables that you would buy at a big box store such as Canadian Tire or Walmart. The folding tables we’re referring to a highly durable wood folding table or plastic folding tables that have been used throughout the high turnover party rental industry and tested to withstand high load capacities. Compared against the residential-use folding tables, they will seem more expensive however, they are higher cost because they are higher quality and designed to withstand wear and tear year over year.

Types of Folding Tables

There are two different types of folding tables that make up the majority of the market: plastic folding tables and wood folding tables. Because these are the most common tables asked for, they will be our topic for this blog post.

Plastic Folding Table:

Plastic folding tables come in a variety of shapes including square, round, rectangular and serpentine. The cost of a plastic folding table varies dramatically in the Canadian market and ranges in price from $44.95 CDN – $185.00 CDN. The price tends to vary based on the size and shape of the plastic folding table and the load capacity of the table.

Wood Folding Table:

Wood folding tables come in a variety of shapes similar to plastic folding tables. The cost of a wood folding table varies dramatically in the Canadian market and ranges in price from $65.95 CDN – $199.00 CDN. The price tends to vary based on the kind of wood the plywood is made from, whether it’s solid plywood or plywood veneer over MDF, the size of the plywood banquet table (a 4ft folding table is generally less expensive than a 8ft folding table), the load capacity of the table and the finishing of table edges (metal/aluminum edges tend to cost more than vinyl edges).

Shipping costs on Folding Tables:

The shipping costs of these tables usually run $21.00 – $54.00 per table depending on the size / weight of the order (shipping costs tend to decrease dramatically per piece based on larger volume), where it is shipping from and where it is shipping to. The shipping costs vary solely on volume, weight and shipping location. Wood folding tables will have slightly more expensive shipping rates than plastic folding tables due to their weight. Nationally based suppliers to the hospitality industry will have multiple warehouses across the country to provide better shipping rates coast to coast. Also keep in mind that suppliers in the United States often may not have factored in the duties and customs fees associated with trans-border linen shipments – which tend to add an additional cost to each piece (above and beyond the exchange associated with the Canadian / United States Dollar).