Toro Kitchen Restaurant Equipment and Supply in Canoga Park has more than doubled its space for showing off its kitchen wares. The kitchen and restaurant supply business opened its new store at 7801 Canoga Ave., Suite 1 earlier this month, increasing its space to 6,100 square feet. It formerly occupied about 3,500 square feet at 7233 Canoga Ave., less than a mile south of the new showroom. The company expanded in order to better meet the demands of its growing customer base, said Eddie Torossian, who owns the company with his father Henry Torossian and brother Pete Torossian. “Now I have the room to buy in bulk,” Torossian said. “I couldn’t buy a dozen stoves before. I couldn’t buy a dozen of any of the large equipment, but now that I have the room to display and store it comfortably, we increase our buying power … which will reflect in pricing on some of the equipment.” Toro Kitchen buys, sells and trades new and used kitchen equipment. Used equipment is refurbished at the company’s 2,500-square-foot warehouse before being resold. The company also provides repair services. Its customers range the gamut of industries and include Marriott hotels in Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Popeyes and McDonald’s restaurants in the San Fernando Valley. Toro Kitchen, started in May 2010, has been growing its business by attracting larger corporate and franchise accounts, which now make up nearly 60 percent of its business. The company has added three new employees in the past month, bringing the total employee count to seven. It also has grown financially. For the eight months Toro Kitchen was operating in 2010, it generated about $255,000 in revenue, Torossian said. For the full year of 2011, it generated about $690,000. The revenue goal for 2012 is $1.3 million. Building a business The Torossians, former car salesmen, started the business after deciding to leave the auto industry amid a challenging economy. Initially, the trio decided to open a bakery in Glendale. In the process, they bought used equipment that they refurbished themselves, selling off what they didn’t need. But they quickly realized food service wasn’t their niche and abandoned the effort. Instead, they latched onto the idea of restoring used kitchen supplies and equipment and then selling it. Eddie Torossian said the family’s experience shopping for equipment showed them there was a need for better customer service in that sector. “We saw how difficult it was to get our questions answered,” he said. “Sometimes it was like the customer service just wasn’t there, so we ended up buying some stuff that we weren’t able to use, or they would oversell us on something that we didn’t even need.” The Torossians started their business out of a 1,000-square-foot garage, but quickly outgrew the space and moved into their first storefront in early 2011. They promoted the company’s services by making door-to-door visits at area restaurants. As a result, the Torossians started landing larger accounts and made bigger purchases from their own suppliers. Supperclub restaurant and nightclub in Los Angeles was among the company’s first major customers. Michael Duddie, general manager and managing partner for the Supperclub, said the company’s customer service is what sets Toro Kitchen apart from other suppliers. Even though Supperclub represented a sizeable contract, he said, other vendors were always difficult to get on the phone. “Eddie (Torossian) and his brother have always been extremely responsive for making sure we’re taken care of,” Duddie said. Eddie Torossian said the company’s desire to continue serving clients in a responsive manner, while growing the company, ultimately prompted the decision to move. Inventory was filling multiple storage units, he said, noting that was a clear sign that more space was needed. Darren Wishner, co-owner of Fratelli’s New York Pizza in Woodland Hills, has been a customer of Toro Kitchen for two years. He has purchased and sold equipment through Toro Kitchen as well as sought repairs through the company. “It’s going to be great,” Wishner said of Toro Kitchen’s new space. “They’ll be able to carry more stuff now.” In another move to better serve customers, Eddie Torossian said the business owners also are installing a new point-of-sale computer system that has iPhone and iPad capabilities. It is expected to significantly speed up the ordering process, he said.
