Now its time to source major equipment. I found this to be fun and exciting but also stressful. If you make the wrong decisions it could have devastating effects down the road.
***WARNING***
Before you start looking at stuff check with your contractor, architect and landlord to find out what type of electric the space has. Most major commercial appliances run on 3 phase electric ( I found this out the hard way). As you start deciding on equipment get cut sheets ( a PDF file with all of the technical information on it) from the manufacturer and send them to your contractor and architect to review before you make the purchase.
The restaurant equipment business is equal in "shadyness" to used car salesmen or weight loss drug infomercials.There is no official place that I know of that honestly reviews commercial kitchen equipment so everything is word of mouth. The only thing you can do is rely on your own past experience and reach out to people in the industry to see what they are using and recommend.
My main priority at this point is to source all of the big items that the architect needs to start his drawings. Hoods, walk in boxes,ovens refrigeration, range,deep fryer, mixers, sinks, pan washer, large work tables and showcases
I am in the NJ area and wanted to find a company as local as possible. I started like everyone else on google. I found several companies in the NJ, NY area. As I mentioned there is no place that reviews this kind of stuff so I am going to do my own review based on my experience. You should of course use your best judgement (and budget) to decide what you need.
USED- There are a ton of restaurant supply places that sell used equipment. Bowery street in NYC has like 4 blocks of these places where you can get some good deals on new and used items. Be careful alot of these things may be refurbished items from hurricane Sandy or who knows where else. A lot of these store are not exactly hygienic either. If you are going to get anything from here I would suggest only smallwares.
Ovens and Major Equipment
Below I am going to list several companies that I checked out and my thoughts on each
Mediterranean restaurant supply 1597 US Highway 22 West Union, NJ-
http://mrenj.com/ - This place has a wide variety of new and used stuff. I gave them a list of everything I needed and never heard back from them. I called and emailed them several times. Customer service sucks
NJ restaurant equipment corporation 51 Broad Ave Fairview, NJ
http://www.njrecorp.com/- Really small showroom. I didn't get anything from here but it looked like they had some good prices
Empire Bakery Equipment1 C Enterprise Place Hicksville, NY 11801-5347 http://www.empirebake.com/ This company has a full line of bakery products. They specialize in bagel shops. I was seriously looking at their minitube stone hearth deck oven. All of their ovens are made in Italy. I visited the warehouse and they seem to store a good amount of product. They also have a test kitchen that you can go and try out some of the equipment. I reached out to some colleagues in the industry and no one had anything good to say about them. I met with a salesman and I gave him a list of items I needed ( like $100,000 worth). I kept getting emails saying I should receive my quote soon but never did. If they cant even contact you in a timely manner when you want to spend thousands of dollars how are they going to be when your oven breaks down and you need service. Your out empire
Unisource Food systems, Inc.
1505 Lincoln
Ave.
Holbrook, New York, 11741 http://www.unisourcefoodequipment.com/
So where do I start with this place. I sent an email request for info and before my finger came off of the send button my phone was ringing. Well after getting blown off by Mediterranean and empire I said ok Ill give them a shot. I was looking at their baby rembrant deck oven and bakery aid rack oven. I took a long ride out to long island. I get there and of course I head for the bathroom first. The place was filthy. I mean really this is your business. Anyway I meet with the salesman who shall remain nameless. He starts spitting out all kinds of bullshit to me like I just got into the business yesterday. I I get a tour of the warehouse where he has all kinds of machines being rebuilt. He claims all of the ovens are built in the US but another source told me they are made in Turkey. The prices are the cheapest in the industry but now I see why. Stay away from unisource.
All Bake Technologies
1930 Heck Ave Build 1 Suite 4 Neptune NJ 07753
http://www.allbaketech.com/
After an exhausting search, hours of research and reaching out to everyone I know. It was recommended that REVENT
http://www.revent.com/ makes the best ovens in the industry (by far not the cheapest). All of the shoprite supermarkets use them. I found a local distributor All bake technologies. I visited the Revent factory in Piscataway and watched them assembling ovens and was able to see the ones I purchased. The salesman was very knowledgeable and helpful in my decision making. They have most everything I needed in the large equipment category ovens, proofer, deep fryer and pan washer. I was able to pick up a deck oven that was used in the REVENT test kitchen for a great price. Ill keep you posted on customer service during delivery and installation.
E&A Supply
140 E 5th St Plainfield, NJ 07060
http://www.easupply.com/
Now I got most of my big ticket items (real big!) I still need a few things. This place was recommended to me by a friend. They have absolutely everything. They have a huge showroom and the staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. Maybe not the cheapest place around but after going to the bowery It felt right. From hear I decided to get some reach in refrigeration, range, candy stove, mixer ( more on that later) and a few other things.
AMF sales and Associates-http://www.amfsales.net/AMF_Sales/Welcome.html Upon a recommendation from a colleague I am in the process of getting a quote for pastry display cases This company services a few major supermarket chains
WALK IN BOXES
BUSH refrigeration 1700 Admiral Wilson Blvd.
Camden, NJ 08109-3990
http://www.bushrefrigeration.com/
This company has been around a long time and they advertise almost everywhere. I contacted them and gave them measurements of my space. They came up with a quote and emailed it to me right away. The price is super cheap. The thing is that they deliver it and you have to put it together and install it. They will send you installation instructions and tell you how easy it is.My boxes are going in the basement and the space is not ideal so I really wanted someone to come and measure and install. I guess if your pretty handy and have an easy space to install you could probably save some money with BUSH. But I don't want to take any chances with the refrigeration
Engineering and Refrigeration inc. 56 Baldwin Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306
This company does not have a website or advertise much if any. I was referred by a friend in the industry. They came out measured the space and made recommendations on the best way to set it up. It took well over a week for me to get a quote and it was more than double what BUSH was charging but installation was included. I'm going with them and Ill let you know how it goes.
Hoods, Ventilation and Fire Suppression
There are a ton of companies to choose from. When making a decision you definitely want to make sure they are licensed and insured. I got at least 4 quotes from different companies. I went to visit the local fire inspector to ask him about all of the requirements. Its a good idea to source your equipment first and get a drawing from the architect to give to them so they can get you an accurate quote. The standard pricing is about $1000 a square foot.
Below are few of the companies I got quotes from:
Hood Mart-
http://www.hoodmart.com I found this company over priced. They deliver the hood and you are responsible for installation. Some of their recommended installer's never returned my phone calls.
Hoods R Us/ NJ fire equipment LLC-
http://njfireequip.com/ I contacted this fire equipment company and they work together with hoods r us. I almost decided to go with these guys but they kept changing the quote and became very pushy trying to get me to give them a deposit. When I advised them I was using a different company I received a nasty email from them.**** you!!
ANSAM Kitchen & Ventilation corp 25 Chobot Ln Elmwood Park, NJ 07407. This place was recommended by of all places empire baking company. So I contacted them and they came out took some measurement's and gave me a very fair quote. They also provided me with a list of other local establishments that they installed hoods for. This could be good because they are familiar with the local government, inspectors etc.. I haven't made a definite decision yet but am really leaning towards these guys.
Flooring
http://dur-a-flex.com/ I decided to use this flooring for several reason:"ultra durable, low maintenance flooring products offer superior protection against bacteria, stains and caustic cleaning agents which means less cross-contamination and less downtime."
COMMITMENT TO GREEN
Dur-A-Flex
® recognizes the need to be at the forefront in developing
eco-friendly products. All Poly-Crete systems have zero VOCs, contain
renewable resources making your project eligible for LEED
® credits
and are CA 01350 compliant
They will send you a list of approved installers I decided on DMA contracting 12 Augusta dr Wayne NJ 07470
http://www.dmacontractingllc.com/contact-us.html
There you go! quite a bit of info. The main things to take home are your biggest most important and most expensive things are
1.) ovens
2.) Hood with fire suppression system
3.) Refrigeration
When shopping around with different companies don't trust anyone!! Do as much research as possible. Get at least 3 quotes on everything so you can compare and see how bad people will try to rip you off. Never make any decisions on the spot. Don't be afraid to send a quote to a company from another competitor. Its great to bid them against each other. Always ask about warranty information and references.
