Restaurant Equipment and Supply for Lincoln, Grand Island and Central Nebraska
Lincoln gave Nebraska some of its best-known food. The first Runza opened near Pioneers Park in 1949, King's Food Host created the deep-fried Cheese Frenchee at its first Lincoln drive-in in 1955, and Valentino's started selling pizza near 35th and Holdrege in 1957. Downtown, the Haymarket Farmers' Market fills 7th and P streets every Saturday morning from May through October.
West of Lincoln, just off I-80, Grand Island has hosted the Nebraska State Fair at Fonner Park since 2010, and the Coney Island Lunch Room has served coney dogs downtown since 1933. This is beef country: Nebraska produced 14.5% of the nation's commercial red meat in 2024, second among the states, according to USDA.
Since 2015, The Restaurant Warehouse has shipped to thousands of commercial kitchens in every state. Nebraska orders ship from our Chicago warehouse, so Lincoln and Grand Island restaurants get the same low prices and freight delivery right to Lincoln, Grand Island, and the towns in between. The most common orders here are reach-in refrigerators, freezers, fryers, charbroilers, pizza prep tables, and draft beer coolers.
Runza, the Cheese Frenchee and Lincoln-Born Chains
A Runza is a trademarked bierock, the yeast pocket of spiced beef, cabbage and onion that Volga German settlers brought to the Great Plains in the late 1800s. Sally Everett and her brother Alex Brening sold homemade bierocks in Lincoln in the 1940s, couldn't trademark the word, and opened the first Runza in 1949. The chain marked 75 years in 2024, has been an official Husker athletics partner since 2000, and had more than 90 locations in five states in 2025, according to Flatwater Free Press. The Cheese Frenchee, a battered and deep-fried cheese sandwich, came from King's Food Host, and Amigos, founded at 5500 O Street on June 17, 1980, has kept it on its King's Classic menu since 2003. Valentino's, started in 1957 when Val and Zena Weiler turned their Campus Fruit Market into a pizza business, now runs 19 restaurants in two states.
Fried-food kitchens need fryers with fast recovery, dough-heavy menus need work tables and ovens, and pizzerias need pizza prep tables and reach-in refrigerators for dough and toppings.
The Haymarket Farmers' Market and Lincoln Craft Beer
The Haymarket Farmers' Market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at 7th and P, rain or shine, and 2025 was its 40th season. Around the corner, Lazlo's Brewery & Grill opened in the Historic Haymarket in 1991, and Macaroni Kid calls it Nebraska's first restaurant-and-brewery. Lincoln Today calls Empyrean Brewing, which brews inside Lazlo's, Lincoln's oldest modern craft brewer. The city's taproom list now includes Boiler Brewing in the old boiler room of the Grand Manse near 9th and P, the Zipline beer hall in Village Gardens, White Elm on Van Dorn, Code Beer in the Telegraph District, Kinkaider's Bierhaus Maisschäler at 8th and P, and Salt Mine City, which moved into the Haymarket in 2024.
Brewpubs and taprooms run on draft beer coolers, back-bar coolers and glass merchandisers, with charbroilers and fryers on the kitchen line. Market vendors and caterers need undercounter refrigeration and work tables.
Grand Island: the State Fair and Coney Island Lunch Room
The Nebraska State Fair left Lincoln for Fonner Park in Grand Island in 2010, and it now runs 11 days every year from late August through Labor Day. Fonner Park itself dates to 1954, when live racing began on land Gus and Emma Fonner sold to the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association. Downtown at 104 E. 3rd St., the Katrouzos family has run the Coney Island Lunch Room since 1933, serving coney dogs with homemade chili, homemade fries and malts, and hosting a yearly hot dog eating contest. Grand Island's Hispanic or Latino share of the population reached 34.3% in 2020, up from 15.9% in 2000. Every spring, more than a million sandhill cranes gather on the nearby Platte River, peaking in March.
Fair vendors and concession stands run on food truck equipment, griddles and fryers, while diners and lunch counters need griddles, sandwich prep tables, and ice machines for summer heat.
Restaurant Supply Store in Lincoln
We ship straight to your Lincoln restaurant. Most Nebraska 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 Nebraska calls are for a fast replacement, like a reach-in or fryer that quit before a Husker home game, or for a full package for a new steakhouse, taproom, pizzeria or fair stand. Tell us what you are cooking and how much room you have, and we will help you size the line.
Why Lincoln 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 the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and the Central District 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 Lincoln, Grand Island and Central Nebraska
Lincoln is our hub for Lancaster and Hall County, from the capital city west along the I-80 corridor to Grand Island. Restaurants across the area get the same equipment, free lift gate freight, and warranty, and they talk to the same team.
Lincoln
Lincoln is home to Runza, Amigos, Valentino's and the Haymarket's brewpubs. Operators searching for a restaurant supply store in Lincoln usually need a fast replacement, so we ship reach-in refrigerators, freezers, fryers, and pizza prep tables to kitchens from the Haymarket to Havelock.
Grand Island
Grand Island hosts the Nebraska State Fair every late August, and downtown spots like the Coney Island Lunch Room feed Hall County. Kitchens there order griddles, charbroilers, freezers, and food truck equipment.
Lincoln Restaurant Equipment FAQ
Do you ship restaurant equipment to Lincoln?
Yes. The Restaurant Warehouse ships commercial restaurant equipment to Lincoln and the rest of southeast and central Nebraska by freight, with lift gate delivery to your door.
Do you deliver to Grand Island?
Yes. We deliver across southeast and central Nebraska, including Lincoln and Grand Island.
How fast is delivery to Lincoln?
Most Nebraska 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 Nebraska orders arrive at your door or curb in 1 to 3 business days. Call (206) 419-5801 to set up either option.
East on I-80, our Omaha page covers Omaha, Bellevue and Council Bluffs, and south our Kansas City page covers the Kansas City metro.
Restaurant Equipment Across Nebraska and the Midwest
The Restaurant Warehouse delivers commercial restaurant equipment across Nebraska and the Midwest from our Chicago warehouse. Find the page for your region: