Commercial Smallwares & Utensils

About Commercial Smallwares & Utensils

Smallwares are everything a kitchen touches by hand: pots and pans, sheet and hotel pans, knives, cutting boards, food storage containers, whisks, tongs, ladles, and portioning tools. Outfitting a new kitchen with smallwares routinely runs into the thousands of dollars at retail, which makes the used market — often sold in lots from restaurant closures — one of the fastest ways to cut startup costs.

Commercial-grade smallwares are made to survive daily abuse and commercial dish machines: heavy-gauge aluminum and stainless cookware, polycarbonate or stainless containers, and NSF-listed materials throughout. Quality pieces from Vollrath, Cambro, Winco, and Update International last for many years of service.

What to Look for When Buying Used Smallwares

Buying in lots is where the deals are, but inspect a sample: pass on aluminum cookware with deep pitting or warped bottoms, polycarbonate containers that are clouded, crazed, or stained, and cutting boards with deep knife scars that can't be resurfaced. Check that pan sizes match your needs — full, half, and third hotel pans in standard depths cover most operations. Knives are personal; factor in professional sharpening or plan to buy those new. For health inspections, stick to NSF-marked items.