National Restaurant Association Show ’23 Product Preview

Faster. Fresher. More flexible. The National Restaurant Association Show starts this Saturday in Chicago, and it’s going to be packed with ways to help make all those goals achievable.

The latest NRA State of the Industry Report revealed that nearly half of the restaurants surveyed were concerned about increased competitive pressure in 2023. So if you’re feeling the heat, you’re not alone! Equipment and supply manufacturers design products to help you stay ahead of the pack by maximizing food quality while minimizing labor, utility, and food costs.

Our goal is to make sure you know about all the latest innovations that are now available to help your business thrive. Here are just a few of the valuable solutions being highlighted at this year’s show.

Mercer Culinary/Barfly, Booth #1248

Mercer Culinary will be bringing the flash.

Booth highlights will include sharp, high-carbon German steel BPX Butcher Sets and Renaissance Cheese Knives, cutlery specifically designed to make quick work of cutting meats and cheeses with precision and ease.

Barfly will be making a splash. 

They will be showcasing their most popular mixology gear and problem-solving new products like their Superfly and Double Heavy Weight Shakers/Tins, Double Wall Insulated Shakers, and Wide Base Mixing Glass. 

Tuxton, Booth #1254

Tuxton will be proudly displaying a shiny new product category at this year’s NRA show: Pro Cookware! 

With three collections to support your operational needs and budget, each was developed with high-performance features for comfort, consistency, and quality. 

The TuxClad, TuxSteel, and TuxWare collections are all NSF listed for cleanability and hygiene and backed by Tuxton’s lifetime product warranty.

As always, Tuxton will also be providing plenty of tabletop inspiration with everything from fresh, new combinations of patterned and solid dinnerware to custom capabilities for a one-of-a-kind presentation. Tuxton Artisan Geode Coral and Mushroom are shown here, complementing white Tuxton dinnerware with warm and earthy color.

Cambro, Booth #1819

Efficiency starts with great organization, and Cambro has everything you can imagine to optimize your space with equipment like the Universal Storage Rack, Camshelving Pegboard Storage System, and space-saving new FreshPro Square Food Storage Containers in two materials. 

Imagine holding hot and cold foods in the same insulated cart. You don’t have to because Cambro made it possible with the Pro Cart Ultra, with models available for food pans or for a combination of food pans and sheet pans.

Cambro is also hosting a contest that’s open to both in-person visitors at their booth and virtual participants at  Cambro.com/NRA. End-users from any foodservice operation can enter to win $10,000 worth of Cambro food storage products!

Structural Concepts, Booth #2480

Structural Concepts has made an art of designing display cases so attractive that they go unnoticed as they make the product inside the focal point. At this year’s show, they will be displaying the new Oasis Refrigerated Door Merchandiser, the Oasis Refrigerated and Heated Self-Service Case for merchandising hot and cold food products in a single merchandiser, and their Kitchen Innovations award-winning Autonomous Retail Merchandiser.

Structural Concepts is the only refrigerated OEM to design and manufacture a complete smart solution for autonomous shopping. Offsetting labor challenges, an appealing merchandising format with increased capacity, a cashier-less transactional system, and the ability to streamline inventory management, this single solution provides a quick ROI turning into increased profitability. 

Learn more about this Kitchen Innovations Award winning product in the KI Showroom (Booth #3491) or on the ’23 Kitchen Innovations Award Winner page.

Hatco, Booth #3612

Hatco, ever the guardian of food quality and safety, will be highlighting an extensive variety of new products, including the new Hatco Flav-R-Shield Sneeze Guard Collection. 

This comprehensive and customizable line includes pass-over, self-serve, and portable sneeze guards that are designed, machined, and finished in the United States. 

Hatco will also be featuring problem-solving equipment like the Flav-R-Savor Heated Air Curtain Merchandiser, a Drop-in Induction Dry Well, the Flav-R2-Go Pizza Locker System, and more.

Sammic, Booth #3844

Sammic will be demonstrating ways to improve your kitchen's efficiency and productivity with food processors, immersion blenders, vacuum packing machines, and popular SmartVide immersion circulators for sous-vide cooking. 

Sammic’s technology partner JANBY Digital Kitchen will be showcasing the JANBY Track for automatic sous vide operations.

Operators can now serve hundreds of portions with the same precision as a typical countertop sous vide tank with Sammic’s SmartVide XL combined with the groundbreaking technology and connectivity of the new 30-gallon Precision Rethermalizer Tank. 

Learn more about this Kitchen Innovations Award winning product in the KI Showroom (Booth #3691) or on the ’23 Kitchen Innovations Award Winner page.

Wood Stone, Booth #4012

Those lucky enough to visit Wood Stone booth 4012 will be treated to a show within the show with live cooking demonstrations and delicious woodfired pizza from the One Rev Labor Saver Rotating Pizza Oven! As the name implies, OneRev bakes perfectly cooked artisanal pizzas in ONE ROTATION. A single setting cooks multiple-size pizzas with an assortment of toppings. Limited employee training is needed to operate it because loading and unloading are the only skills required.

TableCraft, Booth #4254

TableCraft, as always, is serving up the style. From acacia wood display pieces to Faux Cast Iron the Frostone Slate Collection, and an expanded white Melamine serving ware collection, TableCraft’s latest assortment of new products continues to inspire creative presentation and charm to suit your menu and ambience.

In addition to helping you create a great-looking tablescape, TableCraft is also a reliable source for essential kitchen tools like Polycarbonate Spoonouts and Stainless Steel Spoodles.

FWE/Food Warming Equipment Company, Booth #4450

FWE is geared up to share a broad variety of solutions to help you maintain just-prepared quality with new products like Infrared Heated Holding Shelves, Heated Holding Cubbies, Heated Fry Dump Stations, Refrigerated Dough Retarder Cabinets, and Mobile Air Screen Cabinets.

Champion, Booth #5008

The Champion booth is going to be awash with action with the VWS Vortex Wash System, DH6000T Ventless Heat Recovery Hood-type Machine, a PRO Series Rack Conveyor Machine with HMI Control Panel, and a connected Direct Link Kiosk. 

You’ll also be able to get hands-on with a variety of undercounter and flight type dishwashing machine models.

Edlund, Booth #5022

Edlund remains laser focused on helping you find ways to keep a competitive edge via efficiency, consistency, and product differentiation. 

They will be featuring the Edvantage #1 Can Opener and Edvantage Series Meat Grinder, both designed for longer, low-maintenance use, along with a wide variety of tools to enhance your kitchen operations.

Welbilt, Booth #4413

See the latest from Cleveland, Convotherm, Delfield, Frymaster, Garland, Kolpak, Lincoln, Merco, Merrychef, and Multiplex at the Welbilt booth.

You can also see these two 2023 Kitchen Innovations awardees from Convotherm and Merrychef in the Kitchen Innovations Showroom (Booth #4192) or learn more on the ’23 Kitchen Innovations Award Winner page:

Convotherm maxx pro with ConvoSense is the world’s first AI-powered, fully automated combi oven cooking and baking system. 

ConvoSense recognizes the food as it is loaded and launches the correct cooking program for each tray while simultaneously managing the entire cooking cavity for consistent, exceptional results.

The new Merrychef conneX® with Panini Press is the first high speed cooking platform able to deliver a full 16"+ square cooking cavity in an 18" UL certified ventless countertop platform. 

Tri-pleX technology makes it the fastest, quietest, and most energy efficient speed oven in its class. 

The patented panini press accessory, unattached to the oven, slides in and out with one handed ease, delivering consistent, compressed sandwiches with perfect grill marks every time.

If you’re planning to travel to Chicago, please reach out to us to schedule booth tours or product demos. We’d love to see you!  

Can’t make it? We’re always happy to talk with you about new solutions for your business, so please feel free to call us any time.

Contact us!