Restaurant-supply stores offer variety and bargains for individuals

For home cooks, bakers and foodies, a browse through a restaurant supply house is the equivalent of winning the golden ticket to Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Row after row of utilitarian shelving is packed solid with whisks and wooden spoons, baking pans and trays, wine carafes and measuring cups, stirring fantasies about their roles in creating recipes yet to be tried.

Frying pans and pots, sieves and graters — from tiny to humongous — beg to be transferred from the store's walls to those in your own kitchen.

Gadget lovers will covet tiny-but-practical strawberry hullers, sturdy pizza cutters, commercial-grade pasta makers and french-fry cutters.

They're all begging to be picked up, examined and taken home.

The good news is these treasures are available at prices that allow you to make your culinary fantasies reality.

Some restaurant supply houses sell only to commercial customers who buy salt-and-pepper shakers by the dozen or 16-ounce glasses by the case.

But stores such as Liberty Mart in Canonsburg or Penn Fixture & Supply in the Strip District welcome individuals.

“We have always sold to everybody,” says Mitchell Hoffman, the owner of Penn Fixture & Supply. “We have a customer-friendly showroom. People come in and spend an hour, then buy a wooden spoon.”

They get the same attention and prices as commercial customers.

“We don't charge retail prices,” Hoffman says.

Those accustomed to haunting the aisles and catalogs of retail stores may have trouble adjusting to the prices at restaurant supply houses whose primary customers are restaurants, caterers, hospitals and universities.

A 10-inch wire whisk that retails for $10 to $20 at the fancy chain gourmet cooking store at your local mall is priced at $3.55. You can buy a set of metal measuring spoons for 98 cents or a 12-inch long wooden spoon for $1.59. A 9-inch German carbon steel chef's knife can sell for $49.46, not the $130 to $200 and up a retailer might charge.

Restaurant supply stores are a good source for pans and pots that will stand up to years of use, says Timothy E. Curran, the vice president of Curran Taylor Inc. and its Liberty Mart store in Canonsburg.

“Customers are always interested in heavy-duty pans. Your chef doesn't put a pan down like you do. They throw it down,” Curran says. “If they tried to use (a pan bought at a retail store), it wouldn't take them through the week.”

He points to a 12-quart stainless steel double boiler, priced at $71.95.

“I defy you to find this for less than twice this price (at a retail store),” he says.

“Why would you go to and pay absurd prices? Ours are much more functional,” Hoffman says.

The array of available items is extensive. And it's not just smaller items. Hunters, for example, know these stores are a dependable source for commercial-grade meat grinders.

When the holidays roll around shoppers, buy restaurant-sized chafing dishes and wine glasses by the dozen for big parties.

Savvy shoppers often outfit their kitchens with industry-grade metal work tables or 10-foot oak countertops available at wholesale prices.

Others come in search of a movie theater-sized popcorn popper ($413) to supply quarts of popcorn for their annual street fair or home media rooms, or a milkshake mixer ($62.50) for the home bar at prices far lower than retail.

But, you say, price isn't the only consideration. What about quality?

Prices at restaurant-supply houses are lower because merchandise doesn't have some of the frills you find in retail stores.

“People want something heavy, a commercial pan, not a name brand,” says Daniel Miller, general manger at North Pittsburgh Equipment in Bakerstown. “You aren't paying for the chef's name.”

Customers benefit from the feedback store employees and managers get from their commercial clients.

“They're using them eight hours a day, every day. You may use them for one meal, three times a week,” Hoffman says.

If a baking tray warps and twists after a few uses or the rivets on a pot don't hold up, commercial clients let the store know.

Salespeople and managers receive training on new products and how chefs use them day after day. Because they know the difference between commercial and personal needs, wholesale suppliers can advise home cooks and entertainers when not to over-buy.

“Very often, ‘adequate' works. … Why pay $8 for something when you can pay $3.50 for something that will last as long?” Mitchell says. “Whether you're paying 90 cents or $9 for a paring knife, you're walking out with a good paring knife.”

Alice T. Carter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7808, acarter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ATCarter_Trib.