May 5, 2023 – We’re talking 11-quart slow cookers and 60-quart stock pots, bar blenders and immersion blenders, 52-inch pizza paddles and 7-inch meat cleavers, stainless steel tubs, stainless steel slotted spoons and stainless steel milkshake cups.
Oh and grill thermometers, dial oven thermometers, freezer thermometers, digital timers, pocket thermometers, water resistant thermometers, dial meat thermometers, candy deep fry thermometers and hanging refrigerator thermometers too.
You wouldn’t necessarily know it from the outside, but inside the American Supply Company in Seaside, a wonderland awaits.
The external look involves a sun-worn sign and the ever-inviting “JANITORIAL SUPPLIES.”
Within those walls a rare thing materializes—particularly around these parts. Family-owned American Supply is simultaneously a restaurant lifesaver, an industrial foodie playground and a professional cook’s weaponry rack.
Store manager Rick Cunningham is into his gig, which is good because he’s been at it 29 years.
“I love my customers, building those relationships,” he says. “I love what I do.”
He estimates 70 percent of those customers hail from the professional world, some contracting and custodial, but mostly the restaurant sphere. That makes sense, given the seemingly endless inventory of takeout containers, bakery supplies, industrial carpet care equipment and other items industry would seek.
But part of what makes ASC a fabulous Found Treasure is that the other 30 percent of the world is more than welcome. The exterior in Seaside announces “OPEN TO THE PUBLIC,” should mere civilians be unsure.
That is outstanding news, because these professional grade tools are as fun as they are functional for the home cook, and far more affordable than comparable items in gourmet retail shops.
While the Seaside outpost is substantial, it’s a cute little cupcake compared to the Salinas American Supply sheet cake, which might be seven times the size. (Important regional note: ASC stretches well beyond Seaside and Salinas, delivering to the entire tri-county area, so the whole Edible Monterey Bay congregation is within range.)
That’s where Cunningham started. And while his near-three-decade tenure is impressive, it doesn’t seem so weighty compared to company president/co-owner Dave Molinari, who’s well beyond his 60th year on the job.
His mom Louise, dad Victor and uncle Joseph started the shop in Salinas in 1955. That came after they immigrated from Italy—and after Louise cleaned houses for 21 years, before they teamed up to go all in on cleaning supplies.
In fact, at the Salinas shop, Victor’s desk remains the same as it was the final day he worked in 1990, at 90, paperweight and typewriter in place.
“His sweater still hangs on the chair,” says Greg Molinari, Victor’s grandson, Dave’s son, and current ASC principal. “As it has from the day he went from here to the hospital.”
The dedication translates across generations.
“We’re going to have to wheel [Dave] out of there too,” Cunningham says.
“Yup, that’s pretty much the way it’s gonna be with my dad,” Molinari adds.
He credits his dad and uncle John with taking a strong community business and “making it explode.”
The brothers divided and conquered purchasing and sales, respectively.
One key strategy John spearheaded speaks to a greater divide in the restaurant world: He introduced outside sales, sending reps to eateries and businesses that use their products.
“It’s not glamorous stuff—it’s not the fine wine or the fine silverware,” Greg says. “But it’s the things that people who are working the back of the house, who do the cleaning, who really make the operations run, that we cater to. You can’t forget who’s behind the curtain.”
The next generation isn’t as enthusiastic about carrying on the family tradition, having turned to careers in teaching, nursing and produce, or having moved elsewhere in California.
The saving grace there speaks to another foundational piece of ASC’s success: There will be other kin to step in.
“We just treat everyone like family,” Greg says. “It’s a small family business, a tight-knit one, always has been. That’s how we choose to do it.”
This story could be simply about a place to get cool kitchen tools that the pros use, at a reasonable rate, with friendly and folksy service.
The fact that it weaves in the ongoing legacy of a hardworking family and the kind of restaurant real talk I love makes the treasure that more precious.
One of the things that made the relatively recent departure of Del Rey Oaks’ Stone Creek Kitchen sting wasn’t the yummy deli, cooking classes or bespoke wine selection but all the curated kitchen utensils.
For those scouting gifts for kitchen-centric family and friends, American Supply can fill that role more brilliantly and economically.
I came away with two unsung food-prep devices: 1) a pair of Winware kitchen shears with 2.5-inch stainless steel blades; and 2) a 3.5-inch Mundial paddle spreader with a serrated edge.
Either can serve as a metaphor to American Supply: They work on a lot of levels.
American Supply Company 130 W. Market St. Salinas and 1033 Broadway, Seaside americansupplycompany.com.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
