City Restaurant Supply operates as a cash-and-carry wholesaler and order-fulfillment warehouse for independent restaurants, catering companies, and food service operations across central Oklahoma, stocking smallwares, disposables, and specialty equipment at margins significantly lower than retail kitchen supply stores.
Founded to serve owner-operated restaurants rather than chains, City Restaurant Supply functions as both a walk-in warehouse on the south side of Oklahoma City and a phone-and-fax ordering business for established accounts. The operation spans roughly 15,000 square feet of shelving organized by category: cookware and bakeware on one wall, disposables and packaging on another, cleaning chemicals in a designated section, and smallwares from tongs to sheet pans filling the center aisles. Unlike restaurant supply chains with corporate pricing tiers, City Restaurant Supply negotiates individually with each business, meaning two identical orders may carry different net costs depending on account history and volume.
City Restaurant Supply's strength lies in per-unit pricing on high-volume consumables. A case of 9-inch dinner plates typically runs $18 to $24 depending on material and quantity purchased, while equivalent retail at a general kitchen store costs $35 to $45 per case. Smallwares follow similar logic: a dozen 14-ounce deli containers cost roughly $8 to $10 wholesale versus $16 retail. Cash-and-carry purchases have no minimum, though new account openings require a business license and tax identification number. Orders placed by phone before 2 p.m. can ship the next business day to addresses within 150 miles of Oklahoma City; local pickup from the warehouse is same-day if stock is verified.
Comparisons: Restaurant Depot, a membership-based wholesaler with a location near the airport, charges an annual membership fee ($45 to $55) but offers slightly deeper discounts on some commodity items like aluminum foil and plastic wrap. For a restaurant placing orders every two weeks, City Restaurant Supply's lack of membership fees saves money over a year unless the operator purchases exclusively high-volume staples. Williams Food Equipment, a local retail chain with two Oklahoma City locations, carries overlapping inventory but prices 40 to 60 percent higher and serves walk-in customers without an account requirement, making it suitable for emergency single-case purchases rather than routine provisioning.
City Restaurant Supply maintains a credit account system for regular customers, extending 30-day net terms after an account is established. The warehouse staff locate and pull orders for phone callers, reducing shopping time for busy operators. They also accept special orders for items not in stock, with a typical lead time of five to seven business days for food service equipment. No installation, delivery, or assembly service is offered; the business is supply-side only.
City Restaurant Supply suits independent restaurants, catering operations, small institutional food services, and food trucks that place recurring orders and have the storage space for bulk cases. It does not serve retail customers, one-off home cooks, or operations that need next-day delivery to distant locations. New operators without a business license or tax ID cannot open an account, eliminating pop-up caterers and farmers market vendors unless they register formally first.
Walk-in customers without an account must provide a business license and federal EIN to the front desk. The application process takes ten to fifteen minutes. First-time shoppers navigate the warehouse with a cart or hand-basket, finding items by aisle signs. Checkout runs cash, check, or newly opened credit card only; no digital payment systems are available at the register. The warehouse does not offer shopping assistance beyond pointing to sections, so familiarity with product codes and case sizes accelerates the visit.
City Restaurant Supply operates Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The facility is closed Sundays and major holidays. Parking is lot-based with space for roughly twenty vehicles; loading dock access is available for bulk pickups. Phone orders are fielded during business hours; voicemail messages are returned the next business day. The warehouse is located on South Santa Fe Avenue; GPS coordinates confirm the address but hours should be verified by calling before a first trip, as holiday schedules shift seasonally.
City Restaurant Supply fills a specific role in Oklahoma City's food service economy by offering wholesale margins without membership fees or corporate account requirements, making it the default source for independent operators with predictable ordering patterns and nearby storage capacity.
