Restaurants open every day to serve others, to create magical experiences for their guests. Though, as guests, we rarely consider the complexity behind the magic - the mountain of daily variables and care that goes into crafting exceptional hospitality.
Origins
I was lucky to be raised in and by the restaurant industry. My family’s journey began in 1959 with the opening of Mimi’s Pizza and spanned over six decades, lasting until 2020 when COVID shut down my mother’s restaurant, Grazie. As a kid, I’d spend most nights at Grazie procrastinating on homework while enjoying family meal with the team. This is where I learned about hard work, passion, attention to detail and dedication to your craft.
Through working shifts (and dropping many plates), I had a front row seat to the artistry of a well-run restaurant while also witnessing the industry’s more chaotic side. The clunkiness of equipment procurement and maintenance - an essential element to any restaurant opening and staying open - stood out as an inefficient part of our operation, leading to countless headaches. The fragmented nature of the market became increasingly evident when selling Grazie’s equipment, as I learned that our auctioneer charged buyers a 20% premium on each item in addition to their 30% revenue share on all sales.
Restaurants have zero transparency when it comes to equipment buying. The reality is that opening restaurants often start from behind - in a cash constrained position before they’ve met their first customer. Spending the time to thoughtfully explore every potential vendor is not a luxury most operators have, and they pay a higher price because of it. The infrastructure behind the restaurant industry needs to create value for these operators, not extract it.
Enter Backhouse
Backhouse enables every restaurant to scan the equipment market with the click of a button. Our platform works on the operators behalf to aggregate quotes from verified suppliers and recommends the best match, boosting price transparency and completely removing the sourcing burden. By joining our network, restaurants have confidence that they’re getting the best deal available every time. And, as we partner with more restaurants, our collective buying power strengthens, driving prices even lower. Our model also greatly benefits suppliers with access to a high-intent buyer base as well as efficient quoting and payment workflows.
Backhouse makes equipment purchasing seamless. Through our network-based approach, we’ve already saved customers upwards of 40% on purchases and many hours of time. We're committed to serving restaurants measurable value nationwide, empowering our customers to focus on what matters most - serving their guests.
To our early customers and partners, thank you for trusting and challenging us. We can’t wait to see where this journey leads.
To request items or become a trusted vendor, please visit backhouseshop.com or email me directly at max@backhouseshop.com.