We have a friend in the food-service business, and they brought us along (Jan 2026) the to…read moreRestaurant Depot wholesale warehouse to help with some heavy-lifting. There's covered parking for about 60 vehicles right outside the door, and maybe that much more uncovered. They have large flatbed carts that you can roll to your vehicle.
Restaurant Depot is not some colorful touristy market, it's a working wholesale-only supplier, not retail. (By the way, it's a division of Jetro Cash & Carry's company, in case you see that name.) You have to be a registered member in food-service to shop here.
There are aisles and aisles of food by-the-case and food-service-size containers of name-brands and less-known brands. Pretty much every food you can imagine, including some you could call ethnic, such as tortillas, empanadas, ramen, etc. They even have beer, wine, and spirits. We cheered for the cases of poppyseed hot dog rolls and Vienna-brand hot dogs, so, yes, local places really Can make authentic Chicago dogs if they want to! They also had cookware, utensils, and food-service supplies.
Our favorite part of the warehouse-size store was the cold-curtained refrigerated room, a store-sized area itself. You have to borrow an insulated jacket hanging near the entryway to stay warm in there! The room is full of frozen meats and poultry and dairy, and a great selection of fresh seafood on ice, a two-aisle-wide section that includes whole fish and huge shrimp and scallops.
For us curious foodies, Restaurant Depot is something to see at least once, even if we had to help carry a Lot more for our friend than we buy for ourselves at those big box grocery stores :-) And our friend is working to create a Chilean Seabass and scallops Rockefeller recipe, which i hope we get invited to help taste!
