Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/314415
14 FEDA News & Views Culinary Depot continued "If what you are offering is not better, faster, or newer, your company will be sentenced to an eternity of cost-cutting." - DeGraff on "The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Growth" CEO Michael Lichter beams when the subject of customer service comes up, insisting that exceeding expectations or providing value is far more than trite marketing dispensed at will. "We actually deliver," he says. For one, there was the time a customer's booster broke and Culinary Depot dispatched a delivery truck to pick up a new one from a supplier in Delaware. "It would have taken three days for the manufacturer to send it and our customer (a nursing home) couldn't wait," he says. "Without it, they would have had to serve their residents on paper plates, and they didn't want that and we didn't want that. So we picked it up and drove it down to the nursing home in Philadelphia. I made sure my installer was there that night and they were back in business the next day." That's the kind of service that's led to weed-like growth for the distributor and helped it secure a number of chain accounts, à la the big healthcare group affiliated with the nursing home in Philadelphia. It has 140 locations across the country and Culinary Depot services them all. "The best way to get a customer is to keep a customer," says Lichter. "We get references all the time. Our business is built on identifying the customer's need and then developing a solution around it." In response to a growing demand from caterers, hospitals and other facilities seeking help in maintaining kosher standards, Culinary Depot lobbied its suppliers to customize a line of Shabbos-friendly (or Sabbath- mode) commercial equipment in 2009. "There are a lot of challenges involved in serving kosher," says Lichter. "You can't cook diary and meat together, and on the Sabbath it becomes even more challenging because you can't turn on any flames. Whatever is on stays on, whatever is off stays off." The Shabbos-mode line Culinary Depot carries offers a number of convenient modifications to aid in compliance. There are pots and pans, and knives with color-coded handles to help cooks avoid mixing diary and meat products. Customized convection ovens come equipped with a standing pilot and does not turn off lights or fans when the door is opened or closed. There are also warmers without digital displays and refrigeration that has an LED display that can be turned off prior to Shabbos to prevent a drop in temperature when opening the door. Orders for the specialty equipment primarily come from customers in the U.S. but there has been some interest overseas, says Lichter. One of its largest orders—20 Shabbos- friendly convection ovens to a large Jewish Convention in Uman, Ukraine, as well as a few to Pesach programs in Cancun. Equipment also has been shipped to Israel, Australia, and South Africa. Growth is a complicit progression from demand to expand…from sought to wrought. - Excerpt from the Enlivened Self eBook series Culinary Depot has four locations, its headquarters in Monsey, a showroom and small warehouse space in Lakewood, N.J., and a satellite office in both South Carolina and Florida. All are primarily serviced by the company's 30,000-square- foot distribution center in central New Jersey. It's seen one expansion already and is outfitted for others, says Lichter. Thus far, the strategy has been to build upon existing relationships, many stemming from kosher, and then parlay those ties into business in other segments. "Before we opened up in Lakewood," says Lichter, "we already had a clientele, did a few million dollars in business and then put the infrastructure in place to support that business." The blueprint in Florida and South Carolina are identical. Jobs trickled south and then Culinary Depot branched out to support it. That has spiraled into lots of government work in South Carolina and a big contract job in Orange County, Fla. Currently staffed with salespeople, the two offices serve as pockets of fulfillment and replenishment but the company hopes to broaden its offerings—similar to the new design department it just christened last year in Monsey to accommodate an influx of smaller jobs. "We search for an opportunity to grow, find trusted salespeople in those areas to work with and then build around those people," says Lichter. "Our goal is to open showrooms in South Carolina and Florida as well but right now we're focused on building our clientele." Government bids, correctional, casinos, the summer camp industry, a huge chunk of contract work—no segment is off limits. "We actually have a beautiful mixture and that's one of the things that's helped our success," says Lichter. "We also spend a great deal of time mastering the nuances. Each industry has its challenges, whether it's terms, getting the right product in the right time frame, or getting shipboard approved." A mirror image of many team players in the company, Lichter routinely operates in hurricane mode, advising a DSR on margins for a new hush-hush million-dollar job, chatting continued on page 30 One of the great things about this industry is the community of support that binds it. The reps, consultants and general contractors we routinely work with have been a great help—not to mention SEFA. We joined our buying group in 2008 and it continues to be a strong catalyst for our growth. –Sholem Potash, Culinary Depot President