Restaurant Equipment and Supply for Columbia, Jefferson City and Mid-Missouri
Columbia sits about 120 miles from both St. Louis and Kansas City, with the University of Missouri campus right on the south edge of downtown. It is the Boone County seat and had 126,254 people in the 2020 census. Its food history goes back to Booches, a pool hall and burger counter founded in 1884, and its kitchens include Ernie's, Broadway Diner, Flat Branch and Logboat Brewing.
Twenty-nine miles south, Jefferson City is the state capital and the Cole County seat. Central Dairy has scooped ice cream on Madison Street since 1933, Arris' Pizza serves Greek-style pies across from the Capitol, and the neighborhood throws an Oktoberfest every late September. In between, the producer-only Columbia Farmers Market sells food grown within 50 miles of town.
Since 2015, The Restaurant Warehouse has shipped to thousands of commercial kitchens in every state. Mid-Missouri orders ship from our Chicago warehouse, so Columbia and Jefferson City restaurants get the same low prices and freight delivery right to Columbia, Jefferson City, and kitchens across Mid-Missouri. The most common orders here are reach-in refrigerators, freezers, griddles, fryers, draft beer coolers, and food truck equipment.
Booches, Ernie's and Columbia's Diner Counters
Paul "Booch" Venable founded Booches Billiard Hall in 1884, and by 2024 it was a cash-only bar, pool hall and burger counter on South Ninth Street. Its small burgers came on wax paper with no plate, next to chili, brats and a Reuben. Sports Illustrated put its burger at No. 1 in its 2019 "Greatest College Town Eats," and new owners who bought it in 2024 said they planned no changes. Ernie's Cafe & Steak House opened in 1934 and has been on East Walnut since 1946, known for its art deco diner look and steak at breakfast. Broadway Diner opened in 1938 as the Minute Inn and now sits on South Fourth Street, where its signature is "The Stretch": hash browns, scrambled eggs and chili. In 2025, KICK FM reported that Love Food picked it for Missouri on its list of the best classic and roadside diners.
Burger and breakfast counters live on griddles and fryers with fast recovery, undercounter refrigerators and chef bases right under the line, and stainless work tables for portioning patties and hash browns. Steak and chili need charbroilers and ranges that can run from open to close.
Flat Branch, Logboat and Missouri River Wine
Flat Branch Pub & Brewing opened in Columbia on April 18, 1994, in a 1927 brick building that was once a Hudson car dealership, and its beers include Oil Change Oatmeal Stout. Logboat Brewing Co. brews in a former meatpacking plant on Fay Street in Columbia. Its founders started homebrewing in 2010, opened in 2014, and Shiphead ginger wheat is a crowd favorite. West of town on the Missouri River bluffs at Rocheport, Martha and Curtis "Doc" Bourgeois founded Les Bourgeois Vineyards in 1985, now The Blufftop at Rocheport, with the A-Frame Winegarden and The Bistro. In Jefferson City, Prison Brews is a prison-themed brewpub on Ash Street, in the city where the Missouri State Penitentiary opened in 1836 and closed in 2004.
Brewpubs and taprooms need draft beer coolers, back-bar coolers and glass merchandisers up front, and fryers, griddles and reach-in refrigerators for the pub kitchen. Winery bistros and patios add bar refrigeration and ice machines for busy summer weekends.
Jefferson City: Old Munichburg, Central Dairy and Arris'
Dot Sappington built the Central Dairy building on Madison Street in 1933, ice cream counter included, and the shop marked its 90th year in 2023 under its red-and-white awnings. Its products go out statewide. A few blocks away, Arris' Pizza on West High Street sits across from the Capitol, known for Greek-style pizza and baklava. Arris Pardalos came from Katerini, Greece, and his son and daughter-in-law, George and Olga Pardalos, run it now. Every late September the Old Munichburg Association holds Oktoberfest, with a German dinner the night before of sausage, German potato salad, sauerkraut and fried apples.
Ice cream parlors and dessert shops need freezers and countertop display cases, and pizzerias need pizza prep tables and ovens that hold heat through the lunch rush from the Capitol. Festival vendors pack food truck equipment, griddles for sausage and undercounter refrigeration sized for a tight build.
Restaurant Supply Store in Columbia
We ship straight to your Columbia restaurant. Most Mid-Missouri orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Chicago warehouse, with free freight and free lift gate service. Will-call pickup in Chicago is available for verified restaurant businesses, but most kitchens skip the drive to Chicago and let us ship it. Most Mid-Missouri calls are for a fast replacement, like a griddle that quit in the middle of a breakfast rush or a reach-in that stopped holding temperature before a Mizzou home game. Others are full packages for a new cafe, taproom kitchen, ice cream shop or food truck. Tell us what you are cooking and how much space you have, and we will help you size the line.
Why Columbia 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 Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, the City of Jefferson Environmental Health Services and the Cole County Health Department 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 Columbia, Jefferson City and Mid-Missouri
Columbia is our hub for Boone County, Cole County and the rest of Mid-Missouri. Restaurants in Columbia and Jefferson City get the same equipment, free lift gate freight, and warranty, and they talk to the same team.
Columbia and Boone County
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services inspected 1,787 food facilities in 2023. The Columbia Farmers Market, started in 1980, is producer-only and runs year-round on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with all 98 stalls under one roof at the MU Health Care Pavilion in Columbia Agriculture Park since 2023. American Farmland Trust ranked it the No. 1 farmers market in the nation in 2021. On campus, MU food science students make Buck's Ice Cream at Eckles Hall, home of Tiger Stripe since 1989. Operators searching for a restaurant supply store in Columbia usually need a fast replacement, so we ship reach-in refrigerators, freezers, sandwich prep tables and fryers.
Jefferson City and Cole County
The City of Jefferson Environmental Health Services Division inspects restaurants inside city limits, and the Cole County Health Department covers the county outside them. The Lincoln University Farmers Market meets Saturday mornings on Chestnut Street, weekly from early May and every other week in winter. Restaurants near the Capitol and in Old Munichburg order pizza prep tables, freezers, draft beer coolers and griddles.
Columbia Restaurant Equipment FAQ
Do you ship restaurant equipment to Columbia?
Yes. The Restaurant Warehouse ships commercial restaurant equipment to Columbia and the rest of Mid-Missouri by freight, with lift gate delivery to your door.
Do you deliver to Jefferson City and the rest of Mid-Missouri?
Yes. We deliver across Mid-Missouri, including Columbia in Boone County and Jefferson City in Cole County.
How fast is delivery to Columbia?
Most Mid-Missouri orders arrive in 1 to 3 business days from our Chicago 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 Chicago 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 Mid-Missouri orders arrive at your door or curb in 1 to 3 business days. Call (206) 419-5801 to set up either option.
Down I-70, our St. Louis page covers St. Louis, St. Charles and the Metro East, and our Kansas City page covers Kansas City, Overland Park and Olathe.
Restaurant Equipment Across Missouri and the Midwest
The Restaurant Warehouse delivers commercial restaurant equipment across Missouri and the Midwest from our Chicago warehouse. Find the page for your region: