What's Cooking?

Anyone in Sarasota can shop like a restaurateur.

By Carol Tisch

Sarasota may be a small city, but when it comes to gourmet cooking equipment, we’re living large—and cheap. It took a coupon in the newspaper to introduce me to Suncoast Restaurant Supply in Osprey. But the coupon was from the company’s sister business, Caribbean Pie Company. I went in for a free sample of their Key lime pie, and walked out with a whole pie and a restaurant-quality pie wedge cutter. Yes, a pie wedge cutter I didn’t need, but it was just a few bucks. It felt good to spend money on something frivolous again.

The store was packed with customers buying pots, pans and commercial-grade appliances in the dog days of summer. The retail therapist needed to know more about this family-owned restaurant supply business that seemed to be thriving while stores like the Rolling Pin at Sarasota Square and Linens & Things have closed during the recession. My husband, Howard, a self-proclaimed kitchen equipment aficionado, was astounded at the prices for small items like oven thermometers, strainers and restaurant fridges and freezers, which owner Steve Smith says ordinary consumers are buying for their garages. He also sells lots of ice makers and commercial under-counter refrigerators for boats.

The whole family is involved in this full-service business: Steve designs restaurants, sells used restaurant equipment for defunct eateries and auctions stuff at suncoastrestaurantsupply.com, which links you directly to eBay. Daughter Paige bakes pies; Steve’s wife, Holly Buerkle, and his son, Steven Jr., man the store. “The reason we’re so inexpensive on small kitchen items is we buy in bulk for our Internet business and sell at the same low prices in the store,” Steve explained. “Our volume ensures we’re charged little or no shipping fees from vendors, which add significantly to retail prices.”

Steven Jr., Steve Smith and Holly Buerkle at Suncoast Restaurant Supply.

That prompted Howard and me to cost compare items at other restaurant supply companies in Sarasota (which seems to have a disproportionate number of these businesses per capita). Our mission: to replace a spring-loaded eight-inch cake pan that we just noticed had begun to peel its Teflon coating (shocking). We visited spanking new SRE Sarasota (Sarasota Restaurant Equipment) on Pinckney off Clark, a 15,000-square-foot warehouse that was too high on the cake pans but just right on the wood-handled steak knives we love (four for $9). Then it was off to Fox Restaurant Equipment in Northgate and Discount Restaurant Equipment on Whitfield in Bradenton.

SRE (Sarasota Restaurant Equipment) off Clark.

Fox Restaurant Equipment in Northgate.

All the cake pans were in the $11 range, which Howard refused to pay. We learned that it was almost impossible to compare prices on most items, including pots and pans, because sizes and quality varied. But the bargains are there for anyone willing to go to these companies’ Web sites and do the research before going shopping. Back at Suncoast Restaurant Supply, we did indeed find a set of three spring-loaded cake pans for $7.99 (seven-inch, nine-inch and 10-inch).

And just to be sure, we trekked off to Marshall’s (the same company as Home Goods), where I’ve always found the best prices on cookware and kitchen gadgets. Sure enough, they had an eight-inch pan for $3.99. Go figure.

Posted: 8/26/2009 10:21:14 AM | 0 comments

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