We had a nice little break after exhibiting at The Rental Show, but now we're approaching our the busiest part of our trade show season. This weekend, the National Event Supply trade show team will be splitting up with our President heading to Moncton, NB and the rest of the team heading to downtown Toronto, ON.

In Moncton, NB we will be exhibiting at the Canadian Rental Association's Atlantic Small Tool & Equipment Show on Saturday March 1st, 2014 from 10AM – 4PM at Casino New Brunswick. Party rental companies in the Maritimes can expect to see the following items at the show:

• Plastic Folding Tables
• Wood Folding Tables
• Plastic Folding Chairs
• Bar Height Plastic Folding Chairs
• White Resin Folding Chairs
• Gold Chiavari Chairs, Mahogany Chiavari Chairs, Crystal Chiavari Chairs
• A Subset of our Porcelain Dinnerware collections
• Glass Stemware & Crystal Stemware
• Porcelain platters & bowls
• Melamine platters & bowls

New in our inventory, and at the show for your viewing pleasure, is our new line of polyester and spandex linens. We sent a postcard to all party rental companies around Moncton in our database. Make sure you bring that postcard to the booth with you to receive a free tall plastic folding cocktail table just for stopping by! As for our show special, we are pleased to inform show attendees that we will be extending our special American Rental Association Rental Show pricing to them if they order and receive delivery by end of March.

In Toronto, we will be exhibiting at the Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice Association Show from Sunday March 2nd until Tuesday March 4th at the Direct Energy Centre – Exhibition Place. Restaurants and caterers attending the show can expect to see the following items:

• All of our Porcelain Dinnerware Collections
• Glassware
• Crystal Stemware
• Flatware
• Amuse-bouche Spoons
• Porcelain Wonton Spoons
• Porcelain Tasting Spoons
• Porcelain Platters
• Porcelain Bowls
• Melamine Platters
• Melamine Bowls

New in our inventory and at the show for the viewing pleasure of all restaurants in attendance is our new line of NES Reliable Commercial Patio Heaters. Available in bronze or charcoal gray, these heaters are on show special with $100 off the list price. Our additional show special includes 10% off our entire lineup of tabletop items.

We look forward to seeing the Party Rental Companies of the Maritimes and the Restaurants/Caterers across Canada at both shows!

There are a number of party rental and event rental equipment suppliers as well as restaurant supply stores that sell dinnerware sets to party rental companies. It appears that so many suppliers sell dinnerware in terms of "sets" that party rental companies as well as restaurants have been conditioned to expect to be sold dishes that way. When we were recently exhibiting at the 2014 Rental Show in Orlando – we got asked numerous times how much each dinnerware line cost per set. In return, our answer was always "we don't sell dinnerware sets." I admit there were some potential customers that looked at us like we had a second head – until we explained why.

We don’t sell dinnerware sets for the simple reason that our customers don’t have the need to buy sets of items repeatedly. To put it in a simpler context, let’s look at this scenario:

If ACME Party Rental were to buy a 16 piece set (4 piece place setting for 4 people) and rented it out to an intimate event which broke 4 of the 16 pieces – ACME would be in a bind. They would either need to 1) mix and match pieces from their inventory to supplement the broken pieces or 2) buy an entirely new set from us.

Option 1 – mixing and matching pieces from their inventory to supplement the broken pieces works sometimes. But businesses with picky customers wanting a specific look know that option 1 doesn’t always fly.

Option 2 – buying an entirely new set works as well but then you have twice as many of some items and only 1 of the broken pieces. It also can be an annoyance to budget conscious customers who don’t want to pay for a set of 16 if they only need 4 pieces – which is totally understandable.

In party rental and in restaurants it makes much more sense for their businesses to be able to buy only the items they require. Because of this and because we’d rather not bundle sets and create a bad experience for customers, we only sell individual pieces.

We're constantly looking for new items to add to our inventory that will compliment the events our customers put on.

On our last buying trip we came across some fantastic porcelain serving pieces that we believe will compliment the events of our catering and party rental clients and even some pieces for restaurants.

The first piece is the new 4.75" straight sloped bowl. This bowl is perfect for restaurants to serve fries, crudités, or even a small tapas dish. The bowl has a wholesale price of $3.50, is dishwasher safe, microwave safe and oven safe to 400F.

The second piece is the new 13.125" flat pizza plate. This porcelain round pizza plate can be used as its name suggests as a pizza plate at a restaurant or at a catered passed hors d'oeuvres event as a platter. The flat pizza plate has a wholesale price of $12.95. Like the latter, this porcelain flat round platter is microwave safe, dishwasher safe and oven safe to 400F.

The last piece is an addition to our Quadrato porcelain dinnerware collection - the 11.125" square plate. This square plate is another option for an oversize plate should a 12" square plate be too large for your event. The 11.125" square plate has a wholesale price of $8.95, is oven safe to 400F, microwave safe and dishwasher safe.

Where to find the Best Restaurant Supplies in Toronto:

Each year, we at National Event Supply work with restaurants around the Greater Toronto area with respect to their restaurant supplies such as porcelain platters, bowls, porcelain dinnerware, flatware and glass stemware. And because so many folks know our thoughts (from this website) on quality products and great service, they often ask us who are some of the other restaurant equipment & supplies stores and competitors we have in the area.

We like to be as transparent as possible with our customers and because of this, here is a list of some of the companies that have a solid restaurant supply history in the Toronto area:

1. Hamilton Store Fixtures

Having been around for over 70 years, Hamilton Store Fixtures is located in west of Toronto in the Hamilton area, and specialize in restaurant supplies including glassware, cutlery, china and smallware accessories also getting into restaurant equipment and small appliances. The company also offers contract services and consulting services as well as full service distribution.

2. Nella Cutlery

Located in North York, Ontario, Nella Cutlery (also known as Nella Food Equipment & Nella Cucina) has also been around the Toronto area for many years, and service supermarkets, delicatessens, convenience stores, restaurants and casinos. They focus on food equipment, refrigeration, bar equipment, material handling & storage, espresso machines and smallwares.

3. S.t.o.p Restaurant Supply

s.t.o.p. Restaurant Supply is located in Kitchener, Ontario and Sudbury, Ontario and caters to both commercial and retail customers. While Nella Cutlery and Hamilton Store Fixtures sell larger food equipment, s.t.o.p. restaurant supply focuses on smallwares, apparel & household items.

4. European Hotel & Restaurant Imports

Another staple of the Toronto restaurant supply market over the years, European Hotel & Restaurant Imports specializes in cooking utensils, serving pieces, food equipment, glassware and storage containers but also has a very large service division as well.

So there are 4 companies to consider if you're getting quotes or pricing for your restaurant. The key to a great experience with purchasing from a restaurant supply store is:

• The durability of the product
• The value of the product
• The quality of the product

Hopefully, in your case, your experience with restaurant equipment and supplies stores will be an exceptional one.

While our primary target market has traditionally been selling wholesale event equipment such as dinnerware, flatware, folding tables & folding chairs to the party rental industry, more and more restaurants are seeing the value in extending their budgets with accessory porcelain pieces such as serveware from us.

Restaurant critiquing can be thought of as a profession of duality: the dream profession for everyday diners in love with food and a profession that incites anxiety, boasting, tears of joy and tears of happiness for restaurateurs. Part of being a notable restaurant critic means remaining anonymous to ensure their readers get the same dining experience. With so much cloak-and-dagger antics, the world of restaurant critics is riddled with more questions than answers. What is ideal service? How does a restaurant critic choose the restaurants to review? How does one go about assigning stars or ratings to the restaurant? It’s enough to make any restaurateur overwhelmed.

New York Times released a fascinating video series interviewing 5 of their past and present restaurant critics to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into creating a review, what a restaurant can expect when being reviewed and the tactics used to produce said review.

Check out the full video series here.

It goes without saying that the makings of a good restaurant is one that is consistent, has kind, hospitable and prompt service, and produces great food. Behind the scenes, an efficient restaurant is one that is able to partner with a restaurant supplier of dishes, cutlery, and stemware able to quickly and effectively meet your equipment needs while providing you great value – so you can focus on creating culinary masterpieces to make revenue. National Event Supply would like to be that restaurant supplier partner for you. Check out our Tabletop Catalogue for more details on our porcelain dinnerware lines, platters and bowls and cutlery.