Restaurant and Kitchen Supply

Restaurant and Kitchen Supply

Owner: Nick Adams

Location: 4027 Watson Blvd., Ste 200

Warner Robins

Q: Tell us about the new acquisition.

A: “About a month ago we were acquired by Boelter Companies out of Waukesha, Wisconsin. They were founded in 1929 by Fred Boelter, who served bar supplies to taverns in the local towns. Now his son and grandkids run the company, and it’s huge.

“We were one of the largest restaurant and kitchen supply dealers in the Southeast. We’ve worked in Atlanta Braves’ stadium and have done a couple of big hotels in Atlanta. We had a contract division in Buford, Ga., for a while. About three years ago we acquired Citisco, which is a food service company in Gainesville, Ga., and moved our design and contract division up there. So right now we have four divisions in Georgia as part of Direct South Restaurant Kitchen Supply; one here in Warner Robins, one in Macon, one in Gainesville and one in Chattanooga.

“We also have a government division out of our Gainesville store. They do business with bases all over the world. We’ve done the bases here as well as Afghanistan. “However, in our industry you can only go so far. Boelter Company has a lot more cash flow influence and connections, and they’re really big up North

“Any time you go into a bar and it’s got Budweiser or Bud Light, it likely comes from Boelter’s beverage division. They’ve have licenses with all of the big brands that are out there. Miller Light, Coors Light, Budweiser, Bud Light, Guinness, Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada, for example. They also have a ‘brands’ division, called Boelter Brands that has license arrangements with the NFL, the NBA, NHL, and numerous colleges. Come time for the Super Bowl, the new merchandise will be coming from their plant. They are really big into that.

“They also do design and contract work. They’ve done the two Trump Towers in Chicago, and Lambaugh Field. So, they’ve been in a lot of different things as well as we have.

“Normally when a company takes over another, it’s because the other company’s not doing well. In our case we were doing fine. We had all the business we could do, we were just reaching our limit. With this acquisition, it allows us to grown and do even more so it’s really huge for our company.

“It’s also going to be good for our customers. Since it gives us better buying platforms, our prices will be better. It will give us access to different products than we have had in the past. That’s going to give us a wider breadth of products available to our customers. It will have a huge impact on these locations.

“Boelter only has one retail location, their super showroom in Wisconsin. We have four in the southeast. Customers will see some changes in our locations and some of the things we have to offer.

“At the same time, we’re still the same. Direct South has been in downtown Macon forever, so you’ll still have the homegrown service quality coming in for the restaurants as well as for anyone off the street. You don’t have to have a license to come in and buy from us. We’re open to the public and we have the same items you already see in some of your favorite restaurants around town.

“For a long time, especially here in Warner Robins, we haven’t had the opportunities to see brands like Sub-zero and Wolff for home use. We’re hoping with this acquisition we’ll be able to offer that.”

Q: The name on the front door, will it remain the same?

A: “Our retail locations will remain Restaurant and Kitchen Supply. Our online store will remain www.restauratandkitchensupply.com. Our Direct South contract is Boelter Direct South, but our government division will stay the same as Citisco.”

Q: Anything else you want the public to know?

A: “The main thing is, just to let the public know we’re here. We have been for almost five years, and we still have people come in and say they didn’t know we were here.

“So just come in. We have specials every single month. We have a Facebook page for each individual location.

“All of our stores will have some of the same physical elements, like our orange color, but each one has a different feel because of its location.”

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