In a deal involving two Florida-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealers, Commercial Kitchen Stop has acquired Delray Foodservice Equipment and Reconditioning. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but combined, the two dealerships have more than $21 million in annual sales, per Scott Delaney, co-founder of CKS and the company’s integrator.

Located in Lake Worth, Fla., and founded in the early 2000s, Delray is known for its design-build capabilities and, as its name suggests, sales of reconditioned foodservice equipment. In fact, entering the reconditioned foodservice equipment business is one of several factors that made acquiring Delray attractive to CKS, according to Delaney. CKS also saw an opportunity to consolidate some market share and liked the high level of experience the Delray team has.

“I’m 34 years old and our company is based on youth,” says Delaney, who founded CKS in 2017 along with Maria Albertorio and Ryan Giffin. “There’s a great team at Delray, and a lot of them have 15 to 20 years of experience. We are at an inflection point because adding experience will help us get to where we want to go.”

The Delray acquisition is part of a larger vision to grow CKS. “We were looking outward toward the rest of the industry. Almost every conference we go to, the conversation is dominated by succession planning and there are lots of people looking to get out,” Delaney says. “Getting involved piqued our interest. We want to be a top 10 dealer, but it will take us a long time to do that organically. So, we started reaching out to other Florida dealers to see where they are in terms of succession planning. We found Delray to be aligned with us.”

And Delaney expects CKS to maintain a presence in the acquisitions space. “We are actively looking for the next one and are still in conversations that started before this deal,” he says. “We first want to grow across the state and then we want to grow regionally.”

Delray founder Frank Stolino remains with the business. “The owner aligned with our company’s core values: He’s pursued progress. He’s had his customers’ backs. He’s always tried to do the right thing. He exhibited extreme ownership,” says Giffin, who is a co-founder and company visionary. “That ultimately furthers our company’s mission, which is to make buying foodservice equipment and supplies easier.”

Adds Albertorio, who is CKS co-founder and director of finance, “We are excited to join forces with an industry veteran. We are a younger company and the synergies between us will be very impactful in our community. We will be better together,” partner and director of finance.”

“And all the things we offer provide solutions to his client base, Griffin says. “We have the ability to install gas equipment, a warewashing program and an ice machine leasing business. So, we are able to broaden the solutions available to both CKS and Delray’s existing clients through this deal.”

While the acquisition of Delray will certainly turn heads, it’s the latest step CKS has taken to grow the company.

For example, in January, Chris Russo came on board as director of revenue, overseeing sales and marketing for CKS. Russo founded Hurricane Grill and Wings, a restaurant chain that was eventually sold to multiconcept operator FAT Brands. He then worked for Cheney Brothers in the broadline distributor’s foodservice equipment and supplies department. After leaving Cheney Brothers, Russo took a “brief sabbatical” before joining CKS. “During my sabbatical, I tried to figure out what the next decade of my career would look like,” Russo says. “CKS goals and energy levels really align well with me.”

Adds Delaney, “That’s any example of us going to find people with experience that can add fuel to this fire.”

While CKS clearly intends to grow via acquisition, that’s not the only avenue it will pursue. For example, CKS saw an opportunity to grow via adding a retail component and acted upon it. “We were building our business in the direction of design build but along the way we realized that we were leaving some opportunities like smallwares, china and cash and carry sales on the table,” Delaney says.

That led CKS to set up a showroom that measures an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 square feet. “We wanted to bring the National Restaurant Association Show to Florida, so to speak. So, we worked hard with our vendors to set up showroom-type displays and cultivated a cash-and-carry business within our existing facility,” says Delaney.

CKS has enjoyed significant growth in recent years. From 2022 to 2023, CKS saw its annual revenues grow from $9.29 million to $13.53 million, making it the 96th largest foodservice equipment and supplies dealer in the country, per FE&S 2024 Distribution Giants study. In 2024, CKS reported revenue of $14.18 million, making it the 89th largest dealer in the country, per FE&S 2025 Distribution Giants study.