West LA Kitchenware Store Opening at 8 am: Chefs' Toys

Chefs' Toys, at 2233 S Sepulveda Blvd in West Los Angeles, is a restaurant supply store that sells to the public, and it keeps trade hours: 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday, closed Sunday. The store sits just off the 405, and it is the kitchenware store for cooks who want the sheet pans, hotel pans and shears that restaurant lines use, at restaurant prices, rather than the boutique versions.

Chefs' Toys was founded in 1988 and is based in Fountain Valley, where its first store still operates. It grew into one of California's larger foodservice equipment dealers. Foodservice Equipment Reports ranked it 24th on its Top Dealers list, with $57.5 million in 2014 sales, and by 2015 the company ran a 34,000-square-foot distribution center behind its stores. The West Los Angeles branch was already part of the chain then, alongside stores in Torrance and Van Nuys.

What sets the chain apart from a trade-only supplier is the front door. When it opened its Corona store in 2015, the company described its customers as chefs, operators, caterers and food manufacturers as well as home-cooking enthusiasts, and that mix is what you see in the West LA aisles: a line cook buying deli containers by the sleeve next to someone choosing a first proper chef's knife.

The store's own page lists the heavy end first: walk-ins, coolers, ranges, ovens, salamanders and other heating equipment, plus commercial mixers and prep machines. That is useful to know even if you only want a whisk, because the showroom feels like a warehouse, with tall wire shelving and pallets rather than styled tables. Home cooks should head past the equipment toward the smallwares, where the real bargains are, and bring a sturdy box or bag if the list is long, because a stack of sheet pans gets heavy quickly.

The smallwares aisles cover the things that last decades in a home kitchen: aluminum sheet pans, stainless steel hotel pans, squeeze bottles, tongs, ladles, thermometers, mixing bowls and polycarbonate storage containers in every size. Cutlery has its own section with chef's knives, Asian blades, cleavers, paring knives and sharpening tools, and the bar aisle carries shakers, pourers and speed rails.

Do not come for decorative serveware. The tabletop section is built for restaurants, so the china, melamine and glassware are sturdy and plain. That is exactly the point if you want plates that survive a dishwasher for years, but it is the wrong stop for a pretty dinner-party set.

Chefs' Toys publishes its prices online, and the listings on the West LA store page give a sense of the range. Mercer Culinary's 8-3/4-inch premium kitchen shears are $13.99, a box of 50 iSi Eco Series cream chargers is $29.99, and a Cambro CamSquare lid for 6- and 8-quart containers is $2.99. At the other end, a Cambro Cam GoBox top-loading food carrier is $54.99, and a 36-inch Krowne underbar ice bin with a cold plate is $1,893.

Those numbers explain the appeal. Containers, lids and shears that cost several times more in a lifestyle shop are priced here for kitchens that buy them by the case. Online orders can be picked up in store the same day through the Buy Online and Pick Up In-Store option, and online free shipping kicks in at $199 or $499 on eligible items, depending on the product.

The store also offers knife sharpening, which its page pitches to professional chefs and home cooks alike, and it runs a monthly chef special. Ask at the counter what the current special covers before you buy a big-ticket item.

The 8 am weekday opening is the key detail. Trade buyers tend to come early and move fast, so the first hour can be busy at the counter but quick in the aisles. Mid-morning on a weekday, after the trade rush, is the calmest time for a home cook who wants to ask questions. Saturday is the only weekend day the store opens, so it is also the day the casual crowd arrives.

Plan around the Sunday closure. If a Sunday cooking project needs a new pan, buy it Saturday, or order online for pickup during the week. Bring measurements for anything that has to fit a home oven or shelf, because commercial sizes run large: a full-size sheet pan will not fit most home ovens, while a half-sheet will.

If the West LA branch is out of what you need, the Van Nuys store on Sepulveda Boulevard in the Valley carries the same catalog and is a straight run up the 405. For a gentler retail experience with design-focused cookware, Williams Sonoma at the Original Farmers Market is open later, every night of the week.

The store sits in the busy commercial strip of West Los Angeles near the 405, so most visitors drive. Make the trip worth it by pairing the shopping run with lunch across the freeway on Sawtelle Boulevard, where the stretch known as Sawtelle Japantown is lined with ramen counters, Japanese grocers and dessert cafés. Parking there is tight at noon, so shop first and then drive the short hop over.

For a walk after lunch, stroll the length of the Sawtelle strip between Olympic and Santa Monica boulevards, ducking into the small shops and grocers along the way, then finish with a matcha or a shaved ice. On a weekday, the whole loop of shopping, lunch and a short walk fits in a long lunch break, and you can be back on the 405 before the afternoon traffic builds.

Address: Chefs' Toys, 2233 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Hours: Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm, Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, Sunday closed. Services: knife sharpening, equipment installation and delivery for commercial customers, and in-store pickup of online orders.

Prices quoted above are the online listings on chefstoys.com. For more kitchen and cooking errands on the Westside, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP to map a route that pairs a supply run with lunch nearby.