There are places along the Central Coast where restaurants can buy equipment, but they are few and far between.
That’s according to Jacob May, the manager of M&M Restaurant Supply and Service, who supplies local restaurants with the commercial-grade stuff they need. They’ve got pots, pans, utensils, stoves, smokers, sets of cutting knives, ice machines, refrigeration and countertop equipment, and even the kitchen sink. Name it and they probably have it.
As far as May knows, M&M is one of the few—if not the only—brick-and-mortar restaurant supplier between Santa Barbara and Salinas. The store effectively became the only restaurant supplier after Cresco Resco Restaurant Equipment closed down.
May acknowledges that it’s hard to compete with drop-dead low prices from wholesalers on the Internet, but the shop has one thing that makes it hard for online suppliers to compete with: friendly customer service.
It can also be a bit of a challenge sometimes to match the need in a smaller, rural market, but it’s hard to beat a place where the employees know their customers by their first names.
“Here you have to think a little more and get to know the customer a little more,” May said.
Located near the corner of McCoy and Blosser in Santa Maria, M&M’s been around for years. The current owner, Tony Durazo, bought the store about 10 years ago, according to May. It used to be a two-aisle store near Oak Street by Foster’s Autobody. Now it’s a warehouse.
The store doesn’t just supply restaurants, but hospitals, food trucks, churches, assisted living facilities, wineries, caterers, schools, and generally any place with a kitchen that serves crowds of people.
M&M also provides maintenance and repair service for all of its high-end products. It’s hard for many online stores to provide this service, although it’s hard for M&M to compete with free shipping rates. The store also sells used equipment and some household items as well.
“We try to offer service,” May said. “That’s the advantage of being a local restaurant supplier such as M&M.”
M&M Restaurant Supply and Service is located at 1235 W. McCoy Lane. For questions about products and service, call 925-7993.
Highlights
• Tourism is a growing industry in the Santa Maria Valley, and local businesses can get in on the action with promotion through the local chamber of commerce. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is offering a Tourism Marketing Series at Moxie Café on Oct. 6 from 9 to 10 a.m. The series will include guest speaker Cara Martinez, membership manager for the chamber, who will give a short overview of membership benefits. A breakfast buffet will be offered to all who attend. There is no cost. The meeting is open to any chamber members, although first-time attendees are encouraged to join. For more information, call Gina Keough at 925-2403, Ext. 814. To RSVP, email terri@santamaria.com. Moxie Café is located at 1317 W. McCoy in Santa Maria.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2015.