Restaurant Equipment and Supply for St. Louis, St. Charles and the Metro East
St. Louis has a food vocabulary all its own. Toasted ravioli comes out of The Hill, the city's Italian-American neighborhood, where two restaurants both claim to have made it first. Imo's built the square-cut, Provel-topped pizza starting in 1964, and Gioia's Deli has been on The Hill since 1918. For dessert there is gooey butter cake and a Concrete from Ted Drewes on Chippewa Street.
The drinks run just as deep. The Anheuser-Busch Brewery is a National Historic Landmark, Schlafly opened what is described as the first brewpub in Missouri since Prohibition, and out in St. Charles County, Augusta became the first American Viticultural Area in 1980. Across the river, Belleville anchors the Illinois side, and down the Mississippi, Cape Girardeau has its own barbecue history.
Since 2015, The Restaurant Warehouse has shipped to thousands of commercial kitchens in every state. St. Louis orders ship from our Chicago warehouse, so St. Louis-area restaurants get the same low prices and freight delivery right to St. Louis, Chesterfield, Florissant, St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Belleville, and Cape Girardeau. The most common orders here are fryers, pizza prep tables, ovens, reach-in refrigerators, freezers, and draft beer coolers.
The Hill, Toasted Ravioli and St. Louis-Style Pizza
Toasted ravioli is traced to The Hill, and the most common story says a ravioli was dropped into a fryer by accident in the early 1940s. Two Hill restaurants both claim it: Charlie Gitto's on the Hill, formerly Angelo Oldani's, and Mama's on the Hill, formerly Oldani's. St. Louis pizza has a clearer origin. Ed and Margie Imo opened their first parlor at Thurman and Shaw in 1964, their chef used Provel cheese instead of mozzarella, and the thin, square-cut pie became the city's signature. Imo's counts nearly 100 franchise locations today. Gioia's Deli opened on The Hill in 1918, built its name on hot salami made with pork-head meat, beef and seasonings, and in 2017 became the first St. Louis restaurant to win a James Beard America's Classics award.
Toasted ravioli and fried appetizers keep fryers busy all night. Thin-crust pizzerias need pizza and deck ovens, pizza prep tables for Provel and toppings, and stainless work tables for rolling dough. Delis run on sandwich prep tables and reach-in refrigerators. Hot lines add griddles for breakfast and burgers.
Gooey Butter Cake and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
Gooey butter cake is usually dated to 1930s St. Louis. The usual story says a German American baker reversed the butter and flour, and the mistake sold well through the Depression, though no account is verified. Ted Drewes Sr. opened in St. Louis in 1930, and his frozen custard stand on Chippewa Street, on Route 66 in St. Louis Hills, opened in 1941. The Concrete, a shake thick enough to serve upside down, came along in 1959. A second, summer-only stand runs on South Grand.
Bakeries need convection and deck ovens, work tables, and countertop display cases for cakes by the slice. Custard stands and ice cream shops run on freezers, glass door merchandisers, and undercounter refrigerators behind the window.
Anheuser-Busch, Schlafly, Augusta Wine and Soulard Market
The Anheuser-Busch Brewery on Pestalozzi Street was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Schlafly's Saint Louis Brewery was incorporated in 1989, and its Tap Room opened in December 1991, described as the first brewpub to open in Missouri since Prohibition. West of the city, the Augusta AVA in St. Charles County was established on June 20, 1980, as the first American Viticultural Area in the country, and Missouri's state grape is the Norton. Back in the city, Soulard Farmers Market traces its roots to 1779 and runs Wednesday through Saturday year-round with more than 140 vendors.
Brewpubs, taprooms and wine bars need draft beer coolers, back-bar coolers, bar refrigeration, and ice machines. Market-driven kitchens buying from Soulard vendors need two-door reach-in refrigerators and prep tables for produce.
Restaurant Supply Store in St. Louis
We ship straight to your St. Louis restaurant. Most St. Louis 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 St. Louis calls are for a fast replacement, like a fryer that quit before a Friday fish fry, a pizza prep table that stopped holding temperature, or a custard freezer that died in July. Others are full packages for a new pizzeria, taproom kitchen or barbecue spot. Tell us what you are cooking and how much space you have, and we will help you size the line.
Why St. Louis 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 city and county health departments across the region 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 St. Louis, St. Charles and the Metro East
St. Louis is our hub for St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, St. Clair County in Illinois, and Cape Girardeau. Restaurants across the area get the same equipment, free lift gate freight, and warranty, and they talk to the same team.
City of St. Louis, Missouri
Operators searching for a restaurant supply store in St. Louis usually need a fast replacement, so we ship fryers, pizza prep tables, reach-in refrigerators, and freezers.
Chesterfield and Florissant
Florissant's Valley of Flowers Festival comes each May, with roots in 1963, and the 2018 festival sold barbecue ribs and pork steaks. Out west in St. Louis County, Chesterfield restaurants and caterers order charbroilers, sandwich prep tables, undercounter refrigerators, and ice machines.
St. Charles, St. Peters and O'Fallon
The Festival of the Little Hills has filled Frontier Park in historic St. Charles every August since 1971, with food from more than 50 nonprofit groups, and the county's Augusta wine country sits to the west. Restaurants in St. Charles, St. Peters and O'Fallon order griddles, fryers, bar refrigeration, and food truck equipment for festival season.
Belleville and the Metro East, Illinois
Across the Mississippi in St. Clair County, Illinois, Eckert's is a seven-generation family farm in Belleville. Alvin O. Eckert opened a roadside stand there in 1910, and today the farm grows apples, peaches, strawberries and blackberries and runs a year-round Country Restaurant. Belleville kitchens order reach-in refrigerators, freezers, ovens, and work tables.
Cape Girardeau
Port Cape Girardeau opened downtown in 1974 in the building that served as Ulysses S. Grant's Civil War headquarters. Its barbecue pit kept catching fire, so owner David B. Knight built his own cookers, and that became Ole Hickory Pits, which the Southeast Missourian calls one of the largest makers of commercial barbecue cookers in North America. Cape Girardeau restaurants order charbroilers, fryers, reach-in refrigerators, and ice machines.
St. Louis Restaurant Equipment FAQ
Do you ship restaurant equipment to St. Louis?
Yes. The Restaurant Warehouse ships commercial restaurant equipment to St. Louis and the rest of the St. Louis metro and the Metro East by freight, with lift gate delivery to your door.
Do you deliver to Chesterfield, St. Charles, O'Fallon, Belleville and Cape Girardeau?
Yes. We deliver across the St. Louis metro and beyond, including Chesterfield, Florissant, St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Belleville, Illinois, and Cape Girardeau.
How fast is delivery to St. Louis?
Most St. Louis 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 St. Louis orders arrive at your door or curb in 1 to 3 business days. Call (206) 419-5801 to set up either option.
Headed west on I-70, our Columbia page covers Columbia, Jefferson City and Mid-Missouri, and up I-55 our Springfield, Illinois page covers Central Illinois.
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: