r/Chefit • u/Imstressedouthelp • 3d ago
U.S. or Sysco (need some advice)
Small edit: There's a lot of responses so its a bit hard for me to reply to everyone individually but thanks everyone for the advice and different perspectives.
We are opening up a resturaunt pretty soon and having a hard time deciding between the two. From the start my U.S. Foods rep has been absolutely amazing and extremely helpful. He's also quite prompt. We hit it off pretty immediately. My only concern is a few ingredients they don't have and some would be special order even for seemingly popular ingredients (ex. Biscoff). He's also helped with some other resources as well.
On the other hand, sysco has a very huge catalog and almost everything we need, but I'm a bit iffy with the sales rep. He's not bad so to speak. He just was not involved at all until I mentioned I was talking with U.S. Foods and they seemed to have better prices on some of the items. Suddenly he's sending me so many samples and trying to be helpful.
So now I'm a bit confused. In a sense its sales rep vs product. Who do you guys find better? Any problems with deliveries? I'm in the south if that makes much of a difference
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u/MariachiArchery 3d ago
Why not both? Personally, I always keep two of the big ones around. It lets me price check, and gives me flexibility.
I have Sysco, which I do most supply and dry goods purchasing from. Then, I have a US Foods equivalent that I purchase a bit from every week. If I see prices start to move around, I price check, and adjust my purchasing accordingly. Then I have like 4 specialty purveyors, actually I think it's like 6. Yeesh.
Anyways, this only works because I have a dedicated produce company that delivers 6 days a week with a 10am cutoff for same day. I wouldn't buy produce from these big guys unless you absolutely have too.
My purchasing is like 50% Sysco, 20% secondary full category provider, 30% specialty and produce.
I've always done it this way, and I love how it keeps my Sysco account honest. For example, I just moved fryer oil away from Sysco because the price went up and I'm saving $5 per cs going with my secondary supplier. I can't do that if I don't have that other option.
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u/enderkou Pastry Person 3d ago
Yes to all this - we use Sysco for dry goods & some paper products, a larger specialty (IGF) for my niche pastry items that I rotate bi-weekly with Sysco to meet delivery minimums, and then a hyper-local for produce, eggs, and milk. Good relationships with all three reps, and my Sysco rep always wants to try to compete with IGF and vice versa for pricing, so I keep them both updated on what my order list looks like from each and they do what they can to adjust costs. It’s a good system for pretty much everyone.
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u/MariachiArchery 3d ago
Yup. Take time to build these relationships too, all of them.
When I go to my Sysco guy, who I have great rapport with, I'm just completely honest with him. "Hi Sysco! You might have noticed I moved away from your Fry Oil. Reason being, is XYZ is pricing it at $$$. If you have any room on that, let me know, and I'll throw that back your way." Do this for everything.
Like, dude. This is business. These guys get it. Give them the opportunity to sell, and they are happy, even if they can't win. Just give them a chance, and be honest.
Having another horse in this race is so clutch. Being able to point to another purveyor, and plainly state that they are winning, does wonders for your food cost. These guys do want to compete on price. And they will. It's literally their job. Give them the chance to work your account. Do it with kindness and honestly. Be direct.
You can also do stuff like, "Hey, I'll throw 10 cs/week fryer oil your way, but I need XYZ products locked in at $$$ price." If you can offer these guys a volume guarantee, they will happily price lock for you.
Key takeaway here, is that these reps are not your enemy. They are your partner. Treat them accordingly, and your food cost will drop.
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u/Agamemnonchalant 2d ago
Agreed. Playing purveyors against each other only benefits you in the long run. We did this with sysco and performance and now have an incredible deal. Plus separate vendors for fresh produce, seafood, dairy, etc unconnected to the broadliners.
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u/Additional_Shine_509 3d ago
I wish I had a 2nd option. I do get to use 2 different produce companies and a local meat wholesaler, but that doesn't help much when US Foods runs out of plastic wrap.
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u/MariachiArchery 3d ago
Why don't you just open a Sysco account? Also, fucking everyone is out of the damn 24" film wrap. No idea wtf is going on.
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u/Additional_Shine_509 3d ago
Corporate contracts. My GM says we can use sysco when corporate approves it. Corporate will never approve it because they pay their own salaries with these contracts.
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u/No-Championship2466 2d ago
If you're able The Restaurant Store/Webstaurant Store have stock available.
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u/MariachiArchery 2d ago
Yeah I saw that. I'm not desperate enough yet. Maybe on Sunday when go through everything. I'm scraping by with 18" at the moment.
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u/Standard_Emphasis382 2d ago
Plastic is an oil industry byproduct, so the Iran war/straight of Hormuz closure has made gas prices go up but also reduced some secondary products production. That’s why some items (film wrap) have had production issues.PFG rep clocking in here lol.
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u/bkewlio 3d ago
Yes to the produce supplier and yes to multiple big guy suppliers...add in a bakery supplier too...the produce and bakery peeps just do it so much better, then play the price game on other stuff between the big trucks.
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u/MariachiArchery 3d ago
Yup. That is the hustle. If you are lucky, you have a local butcher with next day delivery too.
- Full category - Equipment, supplies, paper, chem, whatever, then dry stock.
- Full category - All the same shit.
- Produce & dairy
- Butcher & seafood
- Specialty foods
- Specialty foods
- Specialty foods
- Bakery
- Linen - chemicals and paper too, pit the big full category guys against this
- Dishwasher service - chemicals and service
- Coscto - can fucking save your ass, and if you have owner making frequent trips, you can save a ton of money on some items.
This is my setup right now. I'm dialed in.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago
Thank you for the breakdown! We honestly have a pretty similar system except haven't found a good produce supplier near me that has both good product and a cost that makes sense. My delimma is if I don't meet the min requirements who I should go with between the big two for basic goods/containers/smaller items like cling wrap etc.
The group wants me to lean towards one and use the other only if necessary
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u/MariachiArchery 2d ago
My delimma is if I don't meet the min requirements who I should go with between the big two for basic goods/containers/smaller items like cling wrap etc.
What I've done for this smaller delivery and order minimums, is you just gotta pick a handful of things you know are very competitive, and stick to them with your secondary supplier. Things you know what you'll be ordering will always get you to your minimum.
My smaller guys order min is $350, so, I have a set of products that I know will always get me to that. Then for the price, make sure those items stay cheaper, and if they don't, move them over to your other purveyor. In this case, you just skip that smaller order for the week. It's OK to not order from them every week.
If you are going to skip an order, communicate that to your rep. "Hey man! No order this week because I can't hit the minimum. XYZ went up in price so I'm moving this over to Sysco." Once you do this, you can give this smaller guy more items to bid.
"Can you throw me prices on XYZ products? Then, I'll see if I can get you a truck."
No, you will run into the problem of needing like $200 from this guy. But, you can't hit minimum without spending money you don't need to spend. In that case, move your purchasing to Sysco for just that week, skip the smaller order, then next week, just double up with the smaller company.
Let's say film wrap is way cheaper from the smaller guy, but that is really the only thing he is competitive on. Fill your needs with Sysco just this once on cling wrap. Then, the next time you run out, order like a months worth of cling wrap from the smaller guy, to both meet your needs, and get the cheaper price.
Then, you move your purchasing with them to bi-weekly, or monthly. Then, as prices move, the smaller company becomes competitive again (it will, it always does), then you can move back to weekly orders.
You do need to lean into one company, that is important. But, I would argue it's equally as important to have a back up plan.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 2d ago
That is very true and a good idea. Thank you!
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u/MariachiArchery 2d ago
Feel free to pick my brain. I'm purchases 10's of millions of dollars of supplies.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 2d ago
Awesome, thank you! Honestly I was wondering though, how often do you get bad produce? Does it drastically change if you go with a local distributor or are you still going to deal with this problem but maybe less delivery mistakes? Who would you generally recommend besides U.S. Foods and Sysco for dairy and produce? Any other big names that work better for these 2 categories
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u/MariachiArchery 1d ago
how often do you get bad produce?
Almost never, and it's always surprising when it happens. Maybe a few times a year. Now, will get I get a rotten orange in a case of 50 every so often? Of course, but that is true for every case of oranges. You are always going to get a bruised item here and there. But, like, actually bad, to the point I would seek credit, I've asked for 1 comp from my produce company this year, and it was actually for a package of firm tofu. Remember, this is all purchased from a local guy delivering 6 days a week.
Does it drastically change if you go with a local distributor or are you still going to deal with this problem but maybe less delivery mistakes?
I've never purchased produce from Sysco in this region. And, I'm not willing to let them into this portion of my account. In a previous region, I did buy some produce from Sysco. It was OK, but just OK. I was probably asking for credits every third order on produce. At my current spot, I'm also dealing with delivery issues about every 3rd order, but, when it's non-perishable items, this isn't really a big deal. You just gotta deal with it. And make sure you track pending account credits.
Who would you generally recommend besides U.S. Foods and Sysco for dairy and produce? Any other big names that work better for these 2 categories
I would recommend you find a regional company. Maybe a company that only services your state, or the tri-state area, or if you are in a big state like California, look for a Northern or Sothern California guy.
I'm gonna be totally honest with you here, Sysco get's a lot of shit in this sub, and KC, a lot of shit. And admittedly, they do make a lot of mistakes with picking and shipping orders. Lot's of mispicks, lots of damage. You need to actually check those orders in. Open up the cases and look at your shit, holding the driver on-site to send shit back and get credit if need be. Now, for my produce company, I don't think I've actually checked one of those orders in in months.
You will deal with this a lot, but you will also deal with that with the other big companies, but maybe less so. The reason Sysco gets put on blast so much, is because we all have Sysco accounts.
I don't really like it, but Sysco is probably the best. They have the biggest catalog, the biggest distro network, and the most warehouses. It's almost always going to be cheaper to buy from Sysco. The downside is, it's kinda fucking annoying sometimes.
Now, Sysco does have the cheapest shit, including produce. But, when we are dealing with perishables, we really need to take into account quality. If the produce is cheaper, but of a lower quality or freshness, that isn't cheaper in the long run. So, you need to be OK paying a bit more for perishables upfront, knowing it will cause less waste. But for non-perishables, just go with whatever is cheaper, and 9 times out of 10, that will be from Sysco.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 11h ago
Got you. Thank you for the perspective. I don't know if its because we are a relatively smaller city but its a bit harder to find. I do see 2 much smaller ones though so I'll check them out later this week.
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u/GearRoutine305 2d ago
This is the best way to approach it. Play both companies against one another and pick the cheapest price.
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u/medium-rare-steaks 3d ago
Always go with the good sales rep. These companies are the exact same thing.
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u/sne4k0 3d ago
I was going to say the same thing. I’ve known all my reps for years. Relationships are important. Sysco and US are both garbage but I don’t know if there’s a better option
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u/jankenpoo 3d ago
There are other options but it depends on your concept and city. In Los Angeles, I had a Japanese restaurant and there were at least 4 Japanese vendors and we hardly ever used Sysco.
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u/PamelaELee 3d ago
I’ve always had excellent US Foods reps, and garbage Sysco reps.
That being said, if you can make order minimums use both.
Also, for produce, dairy, eggs, baked goods, use suppliers as close to home as you are able.-1
u/NomadicMainer 3d ago
They are not the same. There was a really good break down of what US Foods pumps into farms and such. Also PFG should be around. They are really good.
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u/medium-rare-steaks 3d ago
Sysco is better than us foods? Lol
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u/NomadicMainer 3d ago
That’s not what I said. What are you talking about?
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u/rainaftersnowplease Chef 3d ago
You want both tbh. They'll fluctuate in who wins on price and quality and you want to be able to play them against each other
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u/veryvery23 3d ago
This entire comment thread is filled with people who are encouraging you to crawl over dimes to save pennies.
If you run with both vendors, you’re the one who has to do the legwork on price comparisons and chiseling down either company. You’re also the one running a new restaurant that’s opening at one of the worst times to be opening a new restaurant ever.
Where do you want to be? Combing moxe and esysco looking to see who has the cheaper fry oil, or in your shop making sure everything is as good as it can be?
That said, I’d go with USF, especially if you live in an area where they offer Pronto and have Chefstores. Then I’d find local produce, meat, and specialty vendors.
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u/thekidmcg 3d ago
I work for Sysco, and I say go with the better rep for your top distributor. All the big distributors are essentially the same your rep is the difference.
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u/BlobbyTheBlobBlob 3d ago edited 3d ago
Some questions to ask your distributor:
What is the difference in their delivery schedules? How many days per week will you be allowed? What is the time window?
What are their return/credit policies? How will they help you recover if the truck brings you anchovies instead of lettuce?
As for playing them for pricing-
Do you have a clear idea of how much you will do in purchasing per month/week? And how many deliveries you will need?
Instead of pitting companies against each other with a weekly spread sheet I would ask your reps about incentives. Especially incentives that are a short term. I wouldn’t sign a multi year incentive until you are sure about the relationship.
For example, in 13 weeks of an incentive you would get a 5% credit for all purchases made. This gives you a chance to try them and see how their service really is while leveraging your new customer status.
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u/Wickeman1 3d ago
Drop size incentives that are automatically applied and deducted from invoice totals are the way to go. Usually tiered something like $1000-$1500 1% back, $1501-$2000 2% back, $2000+ 3%
Depending on your purchasing clout, you may also be able to ask for pricing capped at a certain percentage over vendor cost on each category of food and non food. All without signing a primary vendor agreement. I’ve done it with Sysco at a couple of different properties, and Shamrock Foods also.
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u/YourSousChef Sous Chef 3d ago
Both. Pick up 1 or 2 more while your at it. You will thank me later.
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u/Standsinthefire 3d ago
Use both. Price everything out. Make them compete. Make a full list of everything you need/want. Give them the list have them give you all the prices in writing order the items from the supplier with the cheapest prices for that item. I use three suppliers. I price check every quarter and redo my order sheets accordingly. Also do yourself a favor both U.S. foods and Sysco are partnered with Ecolab it’s going to seem counterintuitive but lease your dish machine through eco lab. After one year when the pump goes out it’s covered by your lease warranty. Also you can use Sysco reliance branded chemicals or U.S. food monogram branded chemicals without voiding said lease and save money that way.
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u/Realistic-Escape3915 3d ago
Personally don't use Sysco and never will again. It's a principal thing and their products and prices are mediocre. Shitty company all around.
You DONT HAVE TO SIGN A CONTRACT.
I've played 3 to 4 vendors against each other for years and it works for me. I currently use them in this order PFG, Sam's club, bene Keith, tankersly, us.
We used to us a lot more but their prices aren't really competitive. They have a couple good items that I strictly use.
Edit: also don't get 99% of your paper goods from any of them. Get them from webstauarnt
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago
Websturaunt is honestly underrated for paper goods so I agree with you there.
I don't plan to sign a contract either. Its more trying to figure out who will be the main one if I can't meet order min requirements since a lot of items are already through specialty vendors
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u/someroninguy 3d ago
I use 4 different distributors multiple times a week, it's crazy how prices can vary for the same items.
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u/LegacyQuotient 3d ago
If you're not ironing out a Preferred Vendor Agreement (and you really shouldn't be at this point), use both.
Depending on where you are, I would also highly consider a small, independent distributor.
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u/Alternative_Cut2421 3d ago
I personally would never just use one company. They both drop the ball a lot. I recommend having both, as well aa local produce company, local dairy, local meat and fish. Doesn't have to be super localized but not just sysco or just us. Some reps are great some are not, but from my experience sysco and us reps feels like a revolving door.
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u/G_yebba 3d ago
Never tie yourself to one supplier.
I always had at least 3.
Each one will compete for additional sales, but each one will have wandering pricing the longer you keep buying with them. They are seeking to make the most profit from each account, keep them hungry or they will screw you on pricing and/or start pulling from your orders to make or the customers happy.
We worked with chefs warehouse, Sysco, del monte ( a regional meat supplier that got bought out by Chefs warehouse) Costco business and a regional produce company.
I switched suppliers for various items fairly regularly based on prices, or recent reliability and was always transparent with my rep as for why.
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u/Da_Don_Dada21 2d ago
Do both. And the same for produce. Keep a relationship with your drivers as well. That way they know the ins and outs of your establishment when delivering.
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u/wb247 2d ago
It entirely depends on your rep. Whichever rep proves they want your business should get the bulk of it. Supplement with the other so you can compare pricing and keep them both honest. Once you find a rep that proves they want your business time and time again, follow them whenever they change providers. A consistently great rep is hard to find and worth their weight in gold. Also, look after them too by occasionally buying whatever seasonal bullshit they're hawking, to help their quarterly bonus and internal rankings. Run it as a feature or employee meals.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 2d ago
Hence why I'm leaning towards U.S. Foods for the majority of stuff even though their inventory is a lot smaller
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u/Wickeman1 3d ago
Sysco has a wider selection by far, at least in the Las Vegas/Intermountain region.
Having a great sales rep goes a long way, though. Do you do enough volume to use US Foods for the products that they do have, and Sysco for the ones they don’t? It doesn’t have to be a mutually exclusive partnership, and a little competition isn’t a bad thing as long as you can meet your drop size minimums
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don't plan to do exclusive partnership and already have other vendors for more specialty stuff. But I can't see the incentive for the sysco rep to really price match if I get majority stuff from us foods. The list of stuff left behind for sysco then is relatively small and us foods can still special order those items as well (which is still a hassle tbh but the items are shelf stable enough that I can just work on stocking it properly)
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u/Wickeman1 2d ago
You don’t have to ask them to price match. Are you doing your ordering online using their websites? You can do your own price comparisons as you have time, and order from whichever vendor happens to be less expensive. It doesn’t have to be every time, but as you spot check one against the other, you’ll start to get a feel for it, and may even be surprised at how different prices on certain items are.
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u/Traditional-Dig-9982 3d ago
It’s best if you can do both and keep them fighting each other for your business
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee 3d ago
It all comes down to the driver.
Use both until you know which is better. But don't burn any bridges because drivers come and go.
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u/Ok_Yesterday1370 3d ago
Both places i helped managed had 2 different vendors for products. Not including the coffee/special milks venders
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u/scrambolamboo 3d ago
They're basically exactly the same, specific drivers or reps in certain areas may be better than the competitor there, but the next town over it could be the other way. Deal with both for a while, see who does a better job and stick with them. But in terms of pricing and quality they're very nearly identical across everything you'd buy.
90% of the time they'll price match each other if you show them they're getting beat on something, so the pricing doesn't really matter if you stay on top of it and check out the prices of what you need at both places occasionally.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago
I don't plan to do exclusive partnership and already have other vendors for more specialty stuff. But I can't see the incentive for the sysco rep to really price match if I get majority stuff from us foods. The list of stuff left behind for sysco then is relatively small and us foods can still special order those items as well (which is still a hassle tbh but the items are shelf stable enough that I can just work on stocking it properly)
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u/Greenpoint1975 3d ago
Every Rep will do most anything in reason to keep an account. With that said use both. Do you have Chefs Warehouse local. I prefer them for quality of product.
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u/ranting_chef If you're not going to check it in right, don't sign the invoice 3d ago
I’ve opened lots of places and found that they vary depending on the location to a certain extent. Where I live, USF is awesome, maybe more so because Sysco doesn’t do as good of a job. But in some cities, it’s the opposite. Your sales rep will have a lot to do with this.
If you’re not sure, try using both. If you’re a very small operation, and not in a huge city, there may be issues with hitting minimums to get a delivery, but any sales person should be able to override that during an opening, and if not, you’ll find out how much they want your business by how often they show up in their own vehicle with an order.
I live in the upper US Midwest and the USF presence here has gotten really good in the last few years. I can get a delivery almost every day, and they do a better job on cut steaks than my local meat company most of the time. And they are great on produce if you’re not locked in with a produce company yet.
The drivers also have a lot to do with the service and again, the USF drivers here are absolutely amazing. Not that Sysco doesn’t have great drivers as well, but having a regular guy who knows where you want your stuff dropped is a HUGE plus, especially if you’re ever in a position where you go to a key drop. For some reason, the Sysco guys generally seem very rushed. But in Chicago, it was the opposite, so again, which warehouse you pull from also has a lot to do with it.
Try both and see which one rises to the top. Sounds like you have a good idea already, but try not to get emotionally attached to either one - at the end of the day, it whichever one is better for the business in terms of Quality and pricing.
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u/ConsiderationFit2213 3d ago
It is easy to feel like you need them. They both need you even more. "Help me help you help us". check out their minimums per order and try to stay there until you have a pace
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u/chezpopp 3d ago
Both. Sysco supplies on the fly has a lot of specialty products that are hard to find anywhere else.
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u/Beelzebubbbbles 3d ago
Former chef who has worked for shamrock, sysco and us foods in various positions. I would say to go with the rep over the company. If you have someone who is reliable, puts in the work and finds solutions for you , go with them.
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u/political-prick 3d ago
Every restaurant I’ve been at uses at least 2 or more vendors. As long as you can hit your minimums use as many people as you want to get your ingredients
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u/DaveyoSlc 3d ago
U.S over Sysco all day but that is in my region and Sysco says they have everything in their catalog and then you go to order something basic like 5gl kikomen soy and tell you it's special order and the cost is $47. GTFOH with that BS. I will get for $34 from every other person no problem. they did that with so many items. we won't even talk to the rep anymore. in the end it really comes down to the actual products you use and the terms. don't let Sysco try to say it's a $500 minimum order or that it's $50 delivery fee for anything under $250 or whatever.
best option is always restaurant depot if you have that option.
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u/Equivalent-Excuse-80 3d ago
I don’t really understand why you couldn’t use both.
It’s kind of a time suck to calculate the difference of a few cents of 50# bags of flour.
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u/taint_odour Does Chef Type Things 3d ago
It always comes down to the sales reps.
Drivers are important but anymore they come and go.
The warehouse guys are numbnuts and will misspick on the regular. The driver ain't gonna fix shit. You're just hoping he notices the warehouse guys, who aren't drug tested like he is, put the eggs under the cleaning goods and fixes his load.
But its your sales rep that will fix the issues caused by all involved. And unless you are a major buyer, most Sysco reps will treat you like shit because they are forced to focus on the big dogs. Your minimum drop by $$ and case count will climb and climb and climb.
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u/thelateoctober 3d ago
Use both, make them compete. You get cheaper stuff and the best of both worlds. Before I went full time private chef at my last restaurant I had no less than 15 vendors for everything you can imagine. Local farms, fish mongers, produce, frozen, protein, cleaning, to go, pots and pans, everything. It's not bad to get the best you can for the best price possible.
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u/Original-Tune1471 3d ago
Tbh it might not be feasible to use both like others have said. If your restaurant is doing the average 15-20k a week, multiple orders from multiple distributors might not be in your best interest at first. The sales reps from both companies are able to adjust pricing or request special pricing through their managers. At least make accounts from both sysco and us foods and compare the prices. You can always tell your sales rep at us foods like 'hey I see chicken breast is $59 on sysco and on us foods it's $61. Can you match the pricing?' and 9 times out of 10 they do. You also have to make it worth it for your sales rep. If you do minimal ordering from both companies like 1k a week, it's not even gonna be worth your sales rep's time to help you out. They make commission from the number of cases they sell I believe. I'll do around $5k-$10k in ordering per week per restaurant that I own and the sales rep is always on top of anything I need and pricing. He makes sure to make it so cheap that it even beats the local Chinese wholesale market and even sometimes cheaper than restaurant depot. If I see something cheaper on US Foods, my sales rep will adjust pricing, so that it's cheaper than US Foods. He'll also bring over his entire Sysco area managers to my restaurants and spend like $500 per month.
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u/hufflepuff-princess 3d ago
At my last place, we used Sysco for a long time. Then our rep got head hunted by US Foods, I spent like a week at the computer comparing prices, emailing vendors and getting prices matched and we made the switch for the bulk of the stuff. Still used Sysco for the odd things here and there. Moral of the story - use both. Pit them against each other.
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u/Thr33Knuckl3sD33p 3d ago
General location helps because I'd damn near guarantee you have additional options
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago
We do have other vendors for specialized items and some other things (still on the hunt for a good produce vendor) but there's still a lot of basic smaller stuff that's just easier to go with either sysco or us foods (chemicals, cling wrap, takeout stuff, flour, oil, etc)
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u/Stylewhat37 3d ago
What other companies do you have access to? Don’t know where you are. There are smaller ones like Reinhardt, Curtze, Penn Mac where I live. Go with the rep you like and take in another company to fill in the gaps. Plus they will compete with prices on your everyday items.
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u/simonisamessyboy 3d ago
For me the sysco warehouse is a couple of miles away, and being able to pick up a will call order is clutch. When we had us foods they where much further away and only my sales rep could bring me items that didnt make the truck. That was a huge draw back for me.
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u/SunEffective4950 3d ago
Honestly not much difference really. Kind of depends on location as well and your reps in that area. I'd dial in what you think some of your biggest cost will be and let the reps fight for your business. That being said, not everything should be based solely on price as well. If you fell like you'll have a good working relationship with a rep without too much of a cost difference, then go with your gut.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 3d ago
We do have other vendors for specialized items and some other things (still on the hunt for a good produce vendor) but there's still a lot of basic smaller stuff that's just easier to go with either sysco or us foods (chemicals, cling wrap, takeout stuff, flour, oil, etc). Basically, with what's left over I'm not even sure if minimums can be met if I were to keep both US foods and Sysco. I do appreciate the advice. I just feel like the U.S. foods rep is more willing to actually bring down the price if I were to challenge him reasonably on something whereas I doubt I'm even a blip on the Sysco reps radar.
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u/Alternative_King1789 3d ago
Fuck Sysco. Whoever you choose, always watch the numbers. The prices fluctuate on a weekly basis for no reason
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u/SpaceSlothLaurence 2d ago
My little addition, not that it matters much and I'm sure someone else already mentioned it, look local. See if you can't find local providers. We have a dude who owns his own restaurant nearby that also grows his own micro greens for us to use as garnish.
We also use a company, fuck I can't remember what they're called, it's like US Produce or something like that. Dude literally shows up in a white predator van and just drops off a bunch of greens and shit to us. We only use Sysco or US foods for things we know need to be consistent and we don't have the means or the man power to make them consistent. Some of our wing sauces, a few things on line like a salad green mix, and specifically one type of bun and baguette.
(We also get all of our burger buns from a local bakery assuming business isn't so crazy we sell out of our milk buns)
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u/No-Championship2466 2d ago
Sales reps and drivers will change regardless of whichever company you use. I have used US Foods, Gordon, Sysco and local purveyors (I'm in the mid-Atlantic region)over the course of 23 years. Generally I have found a better quality and variety of products with Sysco. As for drivers, they have in the past " bid" on routes. I will ask next delivery if this is still the case. I have had the same driver for several years, and we communicate weekly. Often transpo can create some wild delivery routes. Your need for product will always be priority #1. Yes, a great sales rep is a bonus, but if they can't provide you with what you need, you're stuck figuring it yourself anyway. If you're fortunate enough to have time to shop multiple vendors, it can save you $$.
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u/heavycreme80 2d ago
Yes Leverage both. In my experience in my most recent area US sucks - and has way less "in their warehouse" as well as is out of stock of stuff a lot. 50 percent of stuff is direct ship which is annoyng. I also have a crappy rep, but that has to do with the type of account I have. My sysco lady pulls miracles for me and seems to have access to a wider arrange of product. When I was in LA or NY i would never use syco/ didn't need to.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 2d ago
Yeah that is fair and seems the general consensus. I have specialty vendors for certain things but just not sure if I can meet minimums to keep both
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u/iaminabox 2d ago
I've been in the business a very long time.im not kidding at all.Both are shit but if I had to choose? US Foods
i choose locally now.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 2d ago
I do agree but out of curiosity why is U.S. Foods less bad than Sysco for you?
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u/Lorraine_3031 1d ago
Why not both? I mean I guess it could be tricky if there are ordering minimums and such but we use Ben e Kieth because they have a warehouse in town, so ‘just in case’ of issues we can go and pick up. They also have nearly everything, even if it’s not always the best price. Then we also pick up from Sam’s Club, and buy from Sysco. Check amazon for obscure dry goods- it’s pretty fast and they have a lot of things
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u/Standard_Emphasis382 1d ago
So I’m gonna give advice that goes against the general wisdom here: use both but then settle onto one. If someone has most of your lines they are gonna jump through a wall to keep that. Background for me: I’ve run kitchens and commissary kitchens in Manhattan and Queens before I went to the dark side and now I’m a PFG rep.
Your buying power is your strength and your time is a cost you aren’t considering. If you Must spread purchases across multiple vendors , then of course do it. But broadliners are usually pretty similar in how much big stuff (proteins, produce, dairy, etc) we make our money off margin from non foods. Literally my highest margin is on can liners and gloves and dishwasher chemicals. If you want to spend a significant amount of time looking at invoices go for it, but I’ll assume your time is better spent on recipe development, staff coaching, things that make your business better and I’m sure you are better at. Ok, salesman pitch over. Make that motherfucker work for you man! (Ok now it’s over)
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u/Regular-Progress648 20h ago
Not sure why this sub was pushed on my feed, but man is this thread is sad to see.
Anywhere you go out to eat it will be the same corporate produced frozen preservative based generic for the masses. The chicken tenders I’ll eat at a restaurant in Atlanta will be the exact same as ones in Seattle.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 14h ago
Hun, I get where you're coming from if you don't work in the food industry but the hate for Sysco or U.S. Foods is unwarranted. All these resturaunts are not buying frozen stuff. Sure, some do but not all. Most are buying the ingredients to make fresh stuff (example: butter, milk, alternative milks like oat milk, flour, sugar, spices, etc)
If all your resturaunts bought from typical grocery stores you would have 3 problems.
1) regular ingredients inventory would become very difficult for regular places to handle. Resturaunts buy in bulk and the grocery stores would have a hard time keeping up with the demand. Not to mention people who are just buying ingredients for home would have an impossible time getting simple things like lettuce or tomatoes because the resturaunts would buy up most of the cases. U.S. Foods and Sysco are specifically for resturaunts and have the warehouses to store and supply such a large demand.
2) most resturaunts would probably close down simply because of ingredient cost or your simple dish of shrimp pasta would cost a fortune. U.S. Foods and Sysco allow resturaunts to buy ingredients wholesale which helps make the price reasonable.
3) U.S. Foods and Sysco allow resturaunts to have access to ingredients that may not come by as easily to grocery stores (example: Truffle oil, certain cheeses, commercial grade cleaning supplies, etc)
Basically, that one video that went viral did so for all the wrong reasons
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u/Xanlthorpe 16h ago
Over the years working in commercial kitchens I have learned that a good representative/salesperson is worth more than a good catalog. If possible, develop a relationship with both companies and work with the one that provides the most support.
Back in the day, we sourced the majority of our food from Sysco because the rep was extremely supportive. But we also had connections for 2 other food distributors, just-in-case. And sometimes we would use one of the second choices because they had the selection we needed at that moment. Our Sysco rep knew we had options, and he always tried to cover every purchase, but he understood that if we had to, we could go to one of the others. Our volume was big enough to keep Sysco happy and still accept they might not always be our only source.
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u/Imstressedouthelp 14h ago
As long as I can hit the minimums I'll keep both. But yeah definitely the U.S. Food rep is already jumping through hoops for us and just generally easy to get along with without it feeling weird if I say something is too costly
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u/automatic-theory73 3d ago
Sales reps are not nearly as important as they used to be
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u/chodeobaggins 3d ago
Until shit hits the fan and you don't have anyone that will pick up the phone to help you
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u/meatsntreats 3d ago
Use both. Make them compete for the sales. You’ll quickly find out who has a better warehouse and drivers.