Paramount Restaurant Supply Corporation: Concept to Completion
Hospitality Solutions
Written by Meghan Flynn   
Tuesday, 01 September 2009
Paramount Restaurant Supply Corporation: Concept to Completion
After more than 70 years in business, this food service design and distribution company has the experience and the positive culture to become an international player.
Premier Business Partners:

Delfield
Duke Manufacturing
Taylor
When Paramount Restaurant Supply was founded in 1940, it started by selling fountain equipment to Woolworths and Newburys and helping small restaurants specify, purchase, and install kitchen equipment throughout Southern New England. Over the years, the company expanded into design and construction management and established a slogan: concept to completion. Although the variety of services the company offers today is pared down, the sentiment remains.

“We decided it was more harmful to spread out skills too thin and opted instead to rely on a network of trusted, expert partners to handle the needs of our clients that we don’t specialize in,” said Stephen McGarry, president. “We stick to what we know best because after so many years in the industry, we know who else is the best at what they do.”

Paramount Restaurant Supply Corporation: Concept to Completion
Paramount specializes in restaurant design consulting, foodservice equipment, and millwork and installation services in restaurants of almost any size or type. After a long history of success in the Northeast, Paramount has become one of the top 50 restaurant suppliers in the US and is expanding to further develop its national footprint.

Three years ago, the company opened its first satellite office in Tampa, Fla., a warehouse to reduce shipping costs for jobs in states in the Southeast. McGarry said because the company gained this location, it was able to attract a big job with Benihana in the region.

McGarry added that the most important and challenging part of opening a new office was transplanting Paramount’s culture.

“The customer is king here, and every employee is empowered to do whatever is necessary to satisfy the customer,” he explained, adding that it’s company policy to never give customers the run-around or make them wait for three people to approve a change. “By making sure everyone knows what our goals are, you can give anyone the authority to do his or her part in reaching those goals.”

That philosophy comes from the top: McGarry said he continually reinforces it to his team, who, in turn, empower the staff. He told a story about a salesperson who had just picked up a big account. The customer asked for an organizational chart, and McGarry sent him one, with the sales person at the top. The engineering, estimation, installation, and other departments were spread out underneath.

“When he asked why our sales representative was above the president and everyone else, I explained that’s because we work to give everyone on our sales team whatever they need to satisfy him. That blew him away, but it’s just business as usual for us,” said McGarry.

To bring that culture to Florida, the company sent a team on a temporary basis to hire and train new employees for the warehouse. The strategy was so successful, Paramount repeated it to establish another distribution center in Phoenix, Ariz. That warehouse’s location on the west side of the city allows Paramount trucks to reach 12 states in one day. McGarry said between the two warehouses and the New England office, the company can cover the country efficiently; although, depending on the amount of business, he would consider establishing another distribution center in the Midwest.

Growth in tough times
Three years of solid organic growth fueled Paramount’s jump from the regional stage to the national stage; McGarry said the company was reaching 15% growth until 2006, when the market started to waver. Like any company in the hospitality industry, Paramount has had to take measures to cope with slow business, but McGarry is optimistic.

“The foodservice industry hasn’t been hit nearly as hard as retail because people always need to eat, and often, they want someone else to cook for them. When the market does turn around, this industry is going to continue to grow,” he said.

Paramount is well positioned to take advantage of international growth as well. The company has already successfully completed projects in Canada, South America, Europe, China, and other countries. Wherever its clients want to go, McGarry said, Paramount can follow. Dunkin Donuts, a long-time client, used the company to build and source equipment for stores in Mexico and China. And more recently, Connecticut-based Edible Arrangements commissioned the company’s help for four locations in Dubai.

In the meantime, Paramount is seeking out remodeling jobs; McGarry said there are always new trends in food service, like the growing popularity of smoothies or cupcakes, which require retrofitted equipment or design adjustments. And this year, Paramount won a contract to design and source for a new building in Providence for Johnson and Wales Culinary School. The building will feature 22 kitchens and labs for students, including facilities for a new program in foodservice the school is offering.

McGarry said working with a culinary school is a little different from working with a fast food chain; the latter often has very specialized knowledge of equipment but requires more distribution and installation services. In any case, Paramount is eqipped to handle the most diverse range of needs.

“Our strength lies in our flexibility, which comes from our experience,” McGarry said, adding that most employees have been with the company for more than 10 years. “Our team-oriented and empowered culture will continue to bring us success in the future.”
 
< Prev   Next >