To succeed in the restaurant industry, you need quality food service vendors and restaurant suppliers. Restaurant supplies and equipment are a requirement for start-up, and food supplies from then on are an ongoing necessity, so the food service vendors you choose play a major role in your business. Setting up your ordering systems before opening the doors to your restaurant, catering company, bakery or café will eliminate stress and needless delays in getting deliveries. Vendors that are essential to food service businesses include:

1. Restaurant suppliers who provide equipment and furniture.
2. Order management providers who coordinate ordering for food service businesses.
3. Food service vendors who deliver food and perishables.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Ordering restaurant supplies and equipment

All food service businesses, including startups and seasoned restaurateurs, need to keep equipment and restaurant supplies up to snuff. Nothing looks worse to diners than chipped glassware, bent utensils or tattered table linens.

I recommend: BigTray Restaurant Equipment and Supplies offers equipment and restaurant supplies such as cookware, catering supplies, cutlery, tableware, food storage and shelving. Galasource provides concession, restaurant, bar, kitchen and dining supplies and equipment to the restaurant industry nationwide.

Online ordering systems make ordering from food service vendors a snap

Most chefs and restaurateurs juggle multiple orders and food service vendors to keep inventory on target each week. Online food service industry ordering systems streamline the process by allowing you to order through a single web portal rather than contacting all of your food service vendors separately. It not only saves time, but money as well, given that most online ordering systems give you the purchasing power of a network of restaurants.

I recommend: Foodgalaxy.com enables you to register online to get competitive bids from food service vendors and distributors so you can compare prices. OrderSmart.com is a similar service that allows chefs and restaurant industry entrepreneurs to place a single inventory order from numerous food service vendors rather than placing the average of 15 separate orders per day.

Build relationships with food service vendors

Restaurant industry businesses depend on food service vendors to consistently deliver restaurant-quality ingredients that aren't always available locally wholesale. By building your relationships with food service vendors, you can ensure that you'll never be short of fresh ingredients or restaurant supplies.

I recommend: Sysco Corporation is one of the largest food service vendors in North America, offering 40,000 food products to the restaurant industry. Foodservicedirect has thousands of bulk foods and restaurant supplies including coffee, dairy products, fruits, fish and seafood and entrées available to the food service industry. Cento Fine Food imports Italian foods to the U.S. and sells them directly to restaurants and food service businesses.

Keep up with restaurant and food service industry trends

As any successful restaurateur knows, the food service industry changes rapidly. One day, fusion is in; the next day it's back to the basics. To keep abreast of trends and new products and food service vendors, join an association or check out food service industry articles and research.

I recommend: MarketResearch.com features thousands of articles, food service industry reports and research to keep you abreast of trends in the food service industry. The National Restaurant Association provides continued education, industry trend reporting and resources to its members in the restaurant industry. Food Management Magazine, published by Penton Media, publishes news and information on food service industry trends and has online directories for the latest food products, food service equipment and restaurant supplies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most food service vendors will ask you to open an account with them. Standard procedures require you to provide financial information to apply for an account. With an account, you typically don't have to pay upfront for deliveries but can pay from a monthly statement with 30 days grace period.
• •  Front of house and back of house managers in restaurant industry establishments should work together when ordering restaurant supplies and equipment to avoid any duplications.
• •  Online ordering from restaurant suppliers simplifies the process and allows you to track spending easily.
• •  Consider joining your local restaurant association. Most restaurant associations offer power buying and discounts to their food service industry members.