Will not hurt to try and ask desperate Restaurant food suppliers if they'd sell to you

[HaShev]

I was at a grocery owned by someone who owned the restaurant next door and they always have Restaurant supply type bags of fryable foods, this time a sale on what seems to be at least 5lb bags of fries for only 2.99. Might be even more then 5lbs.
So it got me thinking, it can't hurt to ask restaurant food suppliers if they have food to move.
Fishermen coming off their boats or fish processing and packing plants are another to ask.

 

[bluzman61]

I was at a grocery owned by someone who owned the restaurant next door and they always have Restaurant supply type bags of fryable foods, this time a sale on what seems to be at least 5lb bags of fries for only 2.99. Might be even more then 5lbs.
So it got me thinking, it can't hurt to ask restaurant food suppliers if they have food to move.
Fishermen coming off their boats or fish processing and packing plants are another to ask.

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

 

[Camp]

I was at a grocery owned by someone who owned the restaurant next door and they always have Restaurant supply type bags of fryable foods, this time a sale on what seems to be at least 5lb bags of fries for only 2.99. Might be even more then 5lbs.
So it got me thinking, it can't hurt to ask restaurant food suppliers if they have food to move.
Fishermen coming off their boats or fish processing and packing plants are another to ask.

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Everyone in the business, from suppliers to restaurants must reevaluate and find ways to adapt or they will go broke.

 

[Picaro]

The problem with that is that storage of perishable goods cost money, too, so if you're only feeding a few people buying 10 lb. boxes of frozen foods aren't such a bargain as one would think. I still have a few 5 lb. buckets of chili taking up space from a previous 'Big Giant Bargain' I got a couple of years ago. And, frozen foods have expiration dates, too. Nobyds wants to eat a roast that was frozen in 1982. the portions sold at Sam's Clubs and Costco's are about the right size and at decent prices already for fairly large families, unless you're Mexican Mormons and have 32 kids and another 5 on the way.

 

[depotoo]

I was at a grocery owned by someone who owned the restaurant next door and they always have Restaurant supply type bags of fryable foods, this time a sale on what seems to be at least 5lb bags of fries for only 2.99. Might be even more then 5lbs.
So it got me thinking, it can't hurt to ask restaurant food suppliers if they have food to move.
Fishermen coming off their boats or fish processing and packing plants are another to ask.

We had some produce companies doing that here, but they have now stopped. One had such high quality fruits and veggies in an assorted bag at $10 each. They said they might start again. We sure hope so.

 

[Polishprince]

This is the reverse side of the story that Walmart and other retail grocers are having a tough time keeping their shelves fold. People aren't eating any more now, but they are doing it at home instead of in the local beaneries.

The folks supplying restaurant food are struggling to adapt. This whole pandemic shit came down in an awful hurry and this is actually a sudden reversal. People were eating out more before March.

 

[Picaro]

This is the reverse side of the story that Walmart and other retail grocers are having a tough time keeping their shelves fold. People aren't eating any more now, but they are doing it at home instead of in the local beaneries.

The folks supplying restaurant food are struggling to adapt. This whole pandemic shit came down in an awful hurry and this is actually a sudden reversal. People were eating out more before March.

Some are at least breaking even by selling at big discounts to food banks. Big retailers like Walmart actually squeeze suppliers' margins to near zero, or below, so supppliers really don't lose money when wholesale prices get below a certain point to a dominant market share like Wally World has, they just sell out to Wally World or some other conglomerate like Con Ag rather than going bankrupt. People really don't seem to grasp just how concentrated business is in the U.S., they seem to still think there is some big 'free market' determining prices; there is nothing like that out there, and hadn't been since the Reagan era's merger mania and 'outsourcing' became the latest tax dodge.

 

[HaShev]

I was at a grocery owned by someone who owned the restaurant next door and they always have Restaurant supply type bags of fryable foods, this time a sale on what seems to be at least 5lb bags of fries for only 2.99. Might be even more then 5lbs.
So it got me thinking, it can't hurt to ask restaurant food suppliers if they have food to move.
Fishermen coming off their boats or fish processing and packing plants are another to ask.

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Everyone in the business, from suppliers to restaurants must reevaluate and find ways to adapt or they will go broke.

Agree and we must take this political attempt to shut us back down serious in the way it affects our link of source providers suppliers and end market in a way that can permanently damage our supply chains, our food conveniences etc.
The rioters even made it worse by chasing their only source of convenient fast food out of their neighborhoods/communities/cities affecting their access to local eateries.
Lucky for Sonic they have a system (car side service and outdoor eating picnic tables) that works in this environment and everyone I've seen have been full with customers.
Beach towns are also already set up with outdoor seating and outside canopy bars to take advantage of the views, and that is set up perfect too.
This is why many people have flocked to beach towns to escape their restrictions.
If you have a bar, then get creative, it's only temporary, so serve fancy ice or hot coffee and danishes, virgin daquiris/ smoothies, maybe a sundae since it's summer, offer trivia and other social distance draws like a social distance speed dating or telephone table to table communications set up. Quickly adapt, don't give up, you have to try everything in your power to adapt to the situation you are put in.

 

[HaShev]

The problem with that is that storage of perishable goods cost money, too, so if you're only feeding a few people buying 10 lb. boxes of frozen foods aren't such a bargain as one would think. I still have a few 5 lb. buckets of chili taking up space from a previous 'Big Giant Bargain' I got a couple of years ago. And, frozen foods have expiration dates, too. Nobyds wants to eat a roast that was frozen in 1982. the portions sold at Sam's Clubs and Costco's are about the right size and at decent prices already for fairly large families, unless you're Mexican Mormons and have 32 kids and another 5 on the way.

MOST People are buying a 2 weeks- months supply to avoid shopping every week.
A bag of fries like that can go fast with a full family. I always run out of my thin fries before my next trip to the grocery. Ever since I started using air frying, it's something I can safely indulge eating more often. But yeah that bag of fries took up alot of freezer space. *L*

 

[Picaro]

The problem with that is that storage of perishable goods cost money, too, so if you're only feeding a few people buying 10 lb. boxes of frozen foods aren't such a bargain as one would think. I still have a few 5 lb. buckets of chili taking up space from a previous 'Big Giant Bargain' I got a couple of years ago. And, frozen foods have expiration dates, too. Nobyds wants to eat a roast that was frozen in 1982. the portions sold at Sam's Clubs and Costco's are about the right size and at decent prices already for fairly large families, unless you're Mexican Mormons and have 32 kids and another 5 on the way.

MOST People are buying a 2 weeks- months supply to avoid shopping every week.
A bag of fries like that can go fast with a full family. I always run out of my thin fries before my next trip to the grocery. Ever since I started using air frying, it's something I can safely indulge eating more often. But yeah that bag of fries took up alot of freezer space. *L*

I raise my own beef most years, we also raise a hog or two and chickens. I used to have more freezers than the two I have now, and paying for the electricity and maintenance on large commercial freezers just wasn't worth the hassle and expense; I use the space I cleared out now for dry goods. We have a big feast at slaughter time, for the neighborhood and friends with two large smokers going, and I still have more left than I need, so we send a lot home with people. I imagine half of that gets tossed out eventually. I freeze mostly meats, so my result vary; potatoes we bake fresh, but yeah a bag of steak fries is good once in a while.

 

[HaShev]

The problem with that is that storage of perishable goods cost money, too, so if you're only feeding a few people buying 10 lb. boxes of frozen foods aren't such a bargain as one would think. I still have a few 5 lb. buckets of chili taking up space from a previous 'Big Giant Bargain' I got a couple of years ago. And, frozen foods have expiration dates, too. Nobyds wants to eat a roast that was frozen in 1982. the portions sold at Sam's Clubs and Costco's are about the right size and at decent prices already for fairly large families, unless you're Mexican Mormons and have 32 kids and another 5 on the way.

MOST People are buying a 2 weeks- months supply to avoid shopping every week.
A bag of fries like that can go fast with a full family. I always run out of my thin fries before my next trip to the grocery. Ever since I started using air frying, it's something I can safely indulge eating more often. But yeah that bag of fries took up alot of freezer space. *L*

I raise my own beef most years, we also raise a hog or two and chickens. I used to have more freezers than the two I have now, and paying for the electricity and maintenance on large commercial freezers just wasn't worth the hassle and expense; I use the space I cleared out now for dry goods. We have a big feast at slaughter time, for the neighborhood and friends with two large smokers going, and I still have more left than I need, so we send a lot home with people. I imagine half of that gets tossed out eventually. I freeze mostly meats, so my result vary; potatoes we bake fresh, but yeah a bag of steak fries is good once in a while.

I get your point, in fact it's one of the number one things people leave out their budget when they go into business, they have enourmous electric bills in advertising signs, games drawing lots of juice, huge freezers and fridge draws, lighting inside and out, main marquis sign, temperature comfort control, fans, etc etc, so entertainment games draw more electric then they bring in income and certain food items and drink storage costs more then they bring in.