Restaurant Depot is a national wholesale chain that services the food service industry. There's one in downtown Seattle. They are like Costco, but will only sell wholesale to members with a food service based business license. You can shop as a regular person, but the wholesale deals are off limits. They have EVERYTHING on the cheap. Food and hard kitchen goods of all kinds. Think Dexter fillet knives for like $5 - 8 bucks a pop. Cutting board at $5 bucks. Whole rib roasts for pennies on the dollar and much less expensive than either Costco or Cash & Carry. Crazy cheap wholesale prices.

To get around the food license requirement, get yourself a $35 dollar annual membership to the Kansas City BBQ Society. Your KCBBQS membership comes with a free membership to RD. Just take your KCBBQS card down to RD and they'll sign you up on the spot.

There ya go! It's that simple.

theres also one in Fife and Woodinville...

ill look into this, thanks for the heads up, can never have too many knives....

Thanks for the great tip. There is a RD here in Portland too. It's in Delta Park, just around the corner from Fisherman's Marine and Outdoor! My favorite place to shop.

It is possible to go to RD just to look around, without being a member?

I'm thinking about going there just to see what they have, not to buy. Will they let me in the door.....?

They might, but I believe you have to have a membership to buy at wholesale prices. Let me know what you find out.

I finally got the chance to stop by Restaurant Depot to see what they have to offer. I went to the RD in Portland, in Delta Park, just around the corner from Fisherman’s Marine and Outdoor, just off I-5 in north Portland.

I’m not a member but I went right in. Nobody was guarding the door. Nobody asked me for a membership card (like at Costco). I walked around looking for familiar items so I could determine whether the prices were good, or not.

To be honest, I was not impressed. The quantities, qualities and the prices of the meat and produce are almost identical to Smart Foodservice (formerly Cash and Carry). I shop at Smart Foodservice fairly often. SF has almost the same stuff, at the same prices, but they are open to the general public, with no restrictions and no membership fees.

In fact, there is a Smart Foodservice directly across the street from Restaurant Depot in Portland. So I wrote down the prices of some meat (beef brisket, pork shoulder, pork belly, ribs), and did a comparison with Smart Foodservice across the street. The result: No difference - same stuff, same price, same size quantities, in the same packaging. It would not surprise me if RD and SF are operated by the same company since the labeling, packaging, and organization is identical between the two stores.

So if you want decent prices on meat and produce, and other stuff (in huge quantities), skip RD. Just go to Smart Foodservice.

If you’re in the Portland area, you can do the same comparison I did. Just swing by next time you go to Fisherman’s Marine! Both RD and SF are within walking distance.

Like the intel !

Smart Food Service is the former Cash & Carry
As stated, good for meat items
Spices in large containers
Pellets for smokers
Real charcoal

And a bunch of other stuff for bargain hunters and restaurateurs/chefs.
No membership needed (at least with Cash & Carry)
Monthly sale items