Restaurant Equipment and Supply for Akron, Canton and Cuyahoga Falls
Akron has a lot of food history for a mid-sized city. Swensons has run curb service here since 1934, Luigi's has made its dough daily since 1949, and by legend, Akron natives Frank and Charles Menches invented the hamburger in 1885. Just southwest, Barberton has fried chicken in lard the Serbian way since 1933.
Down I-77, Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bender's Tavern has served steaks and seafood on Court Avenue since 1902, and every late July to early August the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival fills the city with fans, food trucks and a parade. Up the river, Cuyahoga Falls sits right next to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Since 2015, The Restaurant Warehouse has shipped to thousands of commercial kitchens in every state. Akron and Canton orders ship from our Columbus warehouse, so Akron, Canton and Cuyahoga Falls restaurants get the same low prices and freight delivery right to Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton, and Canton. The most common orders here are reach-in refrigerators, freezers, fryers, griddles, pizza and convection ovens, and food truck equipment.
Barberton Chicken: Summit County's Serbian Fried Chicken
Serbian immigrants Smilka and Mike Topalsky opened Belgrade Gardens in Barberton in 1933, after Depression-era debt cost them their farm. The plate they served is still the standard: chicken fried in lard, vinegar coleslaw, fresh-cut fries and "hot sauce," a rice and tomato side with hot peppers. Hopocan Gardens followed in 1946, White House Chicken in 1950 and Milich's Village Inn in 1955 (it reopened as Village Inn Chicken in 2015). The Papich family has run Belgrade Gardens since the mid-1960s. As legend goes, the chicken houses together served up to 30,000 chicken dinners a week in the 1970s, according to Tasting Table.
Frying chicken in lard all day takes heavy-duty floor fryers, work tables for breading, and two-door reach-in refrigerators for raw birds and slaw. Kitchens doing volume add freezers for backup stock and chef bases to keep sides cold at the line.
Akron Originals: The Galley Boy, Luigi's and the Hamburger Legend
Wesley T. "Pop" Swenson sold burgers from his car in 1933 and opened Swensons Drive-In at 40 S. Hawkins Ave. in 1934. Its Galley Boy is a double cheeseburger with Swen RED barbecue sauce, Swen WHITE tartar sauce and an olive on a toothpick, and curb servers still run orders out to cars at about two dozen Ohio drive-ins. Signal Akron named the Galley Boy its best burger in 2025. That same year Luigi's, a Cascade Valley fixture at 105 N. Main St. since 1949 and run by the Ciriello family for generations, won Signal Akron's best pizza; it makes meatballs, sauce, sausage and dough every day from 6 a.m. and takes cash or check only. The burger itself has Akron roots too: by legend, Frank and Charles Menches ran out of pork at a county fair in Hamburg, New York, in 1885 and used ground beef instead.
Burger joints run on flat-top griddles, charbroilers and sandwich prep tables. Pizza kitchens making dough from scratch need pizza ovens, pizza prep tables and undercounter refrigeration for dough and toppings.
Canton: Bender's Tavern and Enshrinement Festival Week
Bender's Tavern at 137 Court Ave. SW has been open since 1902, and the Jacob family has owned it since 1932, now into a fourth generation, according to Ohio Magazine. Its menu leans on seafood and steaks, including its signature walleye. Every late July to early August, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival brings the Balloon Classic (started in 1985), a Fan Fest with food trucks, a parade and the enshrinement. The Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce estimated the 2025 festival was worth $43 million to Canton and Stark County and $77 million statewide.
Steak and seafood kitchens need charbroilers, ranges and ovens and reach-in refrigerators for fish and cuts. Food trucks and caterers working festival week load up on food truck equipment, ice machines and bar refrigeration for the beer tent.
Restaurant Supply Store in Akron
We ship straight to your Akron restaurant. Most Akron and Canton orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Columbus warehouse, with free freight and free lift gate service. Will-call pickup in Columbus is available for verified restaurant businesses, but most kitchens skip the trip and let us ship it. Most Akron and Canton calls are for a fast replacement, like a fryer that gave out mid-shift at a chicken house or a reach-in that quit right before Enshrinement Festival week, or for a full equipment package for a new pizza shop, taproom kitchen or food truck. Tell us what you are cooking and how much space you have, and we will help you size the line.
Why Akron Restaurants Buy From The Restaurant Warehouse
Every piece of new Atosa equipment we sell is run-tested for 24 hours at the factory before it ships. It carries Intertek's ETL Sanitation and cETLus listings, which certify it to the NSF/ANSI food equipment standards and US and Canadian safety standards that inspectors from Summit County Public Health and local health departments in Stark County look for. Refrigeration comes with a 3-year parts and labor warranty and a 5-year compressor warranty, gas cooking equipment comes with a 1-year parts and labor warranty, and extended warranties are available.
- Free freight on qualifying orders, no lift gate fees
- Built for scrappy startups, food trucks and independent kitchens
- Founder Sean Kearney answers calls, texts and email at (206) 419-5801 or therestaurantwarehouse@gmail.com
Serving Akron, Canton and Cuyahoga Falls
Akron is our hub for Summit County and the Canton area of Stark County. Restaurants across the region get the same equipment, free lift gate freight, and warranty, and they talk to the same team.
Akron and Barberton
Summit County Public Health licensed 3,164 food facilities and did 8,844 food inspections in 2024. Operators searching for a restaurant supply store in Akron usually need a fast replacement, so we ship reach-in refrigerators, freezers, griddles and sandwich prep tables from downtown, near the former Quaker Oats mill and silos, to Grant Street in University Park. Barberton's chicken houses order fryers and work tables.
Cuyahoga Falls
Cuyahoga Falls borders Cuyahoga Valley National Park. On State Road, The Blue Door Cafe and Bakery serves farm-to-table plates and baked goods. Cafes, bakeries and restaurants in Cuyahoga Falls order countertop display cases, convection ovens, undercounter refrigerators and ice machines.
Canton
Canton kitchens, from Court Avenue steakhouses to the food trucks at Enshrinement Festival Fan Fest, order charbroilers, reach-in refrigerators, back-bar coolers and food truck equipment. Restaurants there are inspected by local health departments in Stark County.
Akron Restaurant Equipment FAQ
Do you ship restaurant equipment to Akron?
Yes. The Restaurant Warehouse ships commercial restaurant equipment to Akron and the rest of Summit and Stark counties by freight, with lift gate delivery to your door.
Do you deliver to Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton and Canton?
Yes. We deliver across Summit and Stark counties, including Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton and Canton.
How fast is delivery to Akron?
Most Akron and Canton orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Columbus warehouse, depending on item availability and carrier routing. Contact us if you need equipment urgently.
Do you offer free freight?
Yes. Free freight is available on select models and qualifying orders. Contact us to confirm freight options for a specific item.
Do you charge lift gate fees?
No. We do not charge lift gate fees.
What types of restaurant equipment do you sell?
We sell commercial refrigerators, freezers, prep tables, griddles, charbroilers, deep fryers, ovens, ice machines, bar refrigeration, and food truck equipment, plus many other categories for professional kitchens.
Can I get help choosing the right equipment?
Yes. If you can't find what you need, call or email us and we'll help you source the right product for your kitchen.
Can I pick up my order?
Yes. Verified restaurant businesses can arrange will-call pickup at our Columbus warehouse. But why lose a day renting a truck, strapping it down and unloading it yourself? With free freight and free lift gate service, most Akron and Canton orders arrive at your door or curb in 1 to 3 business days. Call (206) 419-5801 to set up either option.
North of Akron, our Cleveland page covers Parma, Lakewood and Northeast Ohio, and to the east our Youngstown page covers Warren and the Mahoning Valley.
Restaurant Equipment Across Ohio
The Restaurant Warehouse delivers commercial restaurant equipment across Ohio from our Columbus warehouse. Find the page for your region: