The Bear Season 3 Gave Us A Sneak Peek Into The World Of Restaurant Depots

This article contains spoilers for FX's "The Bear" Season 3.

Restaurants often need things on the fly, and you don't have to look any further than Season 3 of "The Bear" to get your proof. For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the culinary industry, the show clues folks in on the good, bad, and ugly of the cutthroat world of professional kitchens. Among other things, this includes running out of staple ingredients and other necessary provisions when you least expect it. Episode 7 highlights this as Natalie is asked more than once to pick up C-folds — industry shorthand for the paper towels commonly found in restaurants and offices. Thankfully for Carmy and his crew, Restaurant Depot is there to get restauranteurs and their staff out of a jam.

The inside of the wholesale cash-and-carry foodservice is somewhat comparable to a Costco or Sam's Club, with shelves packed to the ceiling containing countless boxes of food, kitchen equipment, and janitorial supplies. The prices on foodstuff are incredibly low — basically the opposite of high-cost places like Erewhon Market. The Restaurant Depot is able to price goods at astonishingly low rates by eliminating the overhead cost that conventional food distributors charge for their service and passes those savings onto customers. And Restaurant Depot isn't just available to business owners. Only closed on major holidays, the warehouse purveyor serves industry professionals and home cooks alike seven days a week.

Restaurant Depot memberships were historically only available to restaurant owners, caterers, and foodservice distributors, but today, everyone's money is green. In 2020, the wholesale supplier began allowing the general public to take advantage of the massive savings they traditionally offered only to culinary professionals with a membership. Everyday citizens interested in saving on bulk items or commonplace equipment like mixing bowls simply sign in as a guest at the front desk to receive a printed guest pass that allows them to check out when they've found everything they need.

You won't find the shopping carts you're used to seeing in traditional grocery stores at Restaurant Depot. As seen in episode 7 of "The Bear" season 3, when Natalie makes a trip to pick up necessities for the restaurant, the warehouse dealer instead offers shoppers flat utility carts that are more capable of transporting bulk items. It doesn't seem as though she had to take the cart into the walk-in freezer in the store, but if she had, she would probably have wanted a heavier coat. The walk-in refrigerators and freezers in Restaurant Depot are purposely kept as cold as possible, and those unfamiliar with how cold they get could have trouble moving their freezing fingers within minutes. However, you don't actually have to go into these cold units to access of the incredible savings inside.

After navigating the countless, towering aisles of culinary goods in Episode 7 of "The Bear" season 3, Carmy's sister Natalie is shown packing up her car with C-folds and various other kitchen supplies just before she appears to go into labor. Having rejected Neil's offer to accompany her to Restaurant Depot, she's alone when she doubles over next to her car as the screen fades to black before the episode credits roll. Natalie said she needed an adventure, but she may have saved herself from this troubling fate if she had taken advantage of Restaurant Depot's pickup or delivery options.

If traversing the warehouse seems too intimidating, you can always place your order online for pickup — an option that's not available to you at stores like Trader Joe's. Select a date and time that fits your needs, and Restaurant Depot will have your entire order waiting for you when you show up. However, if you are busy like Carmy scratching out a new menu or should be taking it a little easier physically like Natalie, delivery might be the best option. Restaurant Depot has partnered with a delivery service that will do the shopping for you and deliver the goods right to your door. Had Natalie taken this route, she could have avoided the frightening situation in a parking lot while still getting industry insider prices the Restaurant Depot has to offer.