Restaurant wholesale chain allows non-members to shop for the first time in decades

FILE-- For the first time in the company's history, Restaurant Depot will allow non-members who are not part of the restaurant industry to shop at its stores. FILE-- For the first time in the company's history, Restaurant Depot will allow non-members who are not part of the restaurant industry to shop at its stores. Photo: Kmatta/Getty Images Photo: Kmatta/Getty Images Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Restaurant wholesale chain allows non-members to shop for the first time in decades 1 / 34 Back to Gallery

For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

A national wholesale chain has temporarily opened its doors to non-members who need access to bulk goods during shelter-in-place orders.

Restaurant Depot, a restaurant supply store for people in food service industries, extended its goods to non-member customers on March 27. It’s the first time in the company’s 40-year history that the general public can shop inside its stores, according to San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

“Anything a restaurant has under its roof we can supply,” Ruben Vogel, chief operating officer at Jetro Restaurant Depot, told the Valley Tribune.

ALSO: Costco announces new hours, social distancing guidelines for its stores

Among the items available include restaurant equipment, cleaning supplies, fresh produce, and fish.

The move comes at a time when sales at Restaurant Depot have been down after shelter-in-place orders required restaurants to halt all dine-in service and shift to take-out service only, Vogel told the Valley Tribune.

Restaurant Depot has three Bay Area locations that include single stores in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco.

ALSO: 'Business has been incredible': Inside one of the few SF businesses thriving during the pandemic

“Being opened [to the general public] has helped us,” a store associate at the San Francisco warehouse told SFGATE.

The wholesale chain has a total of 135 stores nationwide, with 19 locations throughout California. See the Bay Area Restaurant Depot locations below:

San Francisco : 2045 Evans Ave.

: 2045 Evans Ave. Oakland : 400 High St.

: 400 High St. San Jose: 520 Brennan St.

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.