PB&J Commercial Agents
PB&J Commercial Agents is a privately held manufacturer's representative group based in Hillside, Illinois, representing approximately 29 premium commercial foodservice equipment manufacturers across the Upper Midwest — including Chicagoland, Wisconsin, and Northwest Indiana — with a consultative, education-led sales model anchored by an in-house culinary kitchen demo facility.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersHillside, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What PB&J Commercial Agents does
PB&J Commercial Agents (legal name: PB&J Commercial Associates) is a privately held manufacturer's representative group founded in 2015 and based in Hillside, Illinois, serving the commercial foodservice equipment market across the Upper Midwest — specifically the Chicagoland area, Wisconsin, and Northwest Indiana. The company represents approximately 29 premium equipment manufacturers spanning cooking (Wood Stone, American Range, Hestan, Mibrasa, Cookshack), refrigeration (Bally, RDT, IMC/Teddy, Citrocasa-adjacent), beverage (Chill-Rite 32, Faema, Franke Coffee Systems), warewashing (MEIKO), bakery (LBC), vacuum packaging (Henkelman), and specialty categories (Dry Ager, Afinox, Ciam). PB&J layers a consultative, education-led selling motion on top of this line card, including a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen demo facility at 205 Fencl Lane in Hillside that enables hands-on equipment demonstrations, training, and product/recipe testing prior to purchase.
The firm's revenue model is commission-based: PB&J earns transaction fees on equipment sales facilitated through dealer networks and direct end-user relationships in its territory. The GTM is sales-led, emphasizing relationship-building, in-person demonstrations, and acting as an advocate to dealers and partner to manufacturers. Customers are predominantly enterprise restaurant groups and foodservice operators (Lettuce Entertain You, Boka Restaurant Group, Gibsons, Bartolotta, Frontera, Levy, One-Off Hospitality Group, Pinstripes, Home Run Inn, Cornerstone Restaurant Group, QuestFood, Valley View Public Schools), with the company publicly positioning itself as a knowledge resource for specifiers and end users. The firm is privately held with no disclosed funding, parent company, or institutional investors, and operates with a lean staff of 7 employees plus a chef demonstrator.
PB&J Commercial Agents firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PB&J Commercial Agents
- Legal name
- PB&J Commercial Associates
- Website
- https://pbjreps.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- PB&J Commercial Agents is a privately held manufacturer's representative group based in Hillside, Illinois, representing approximately 29 premium commercial foodservice equipment manufacturers across the Upper Midwest — including Chicagoland, Wisconsin, and Northwest Indiana — with a consultative, education-led sales model anchored by an in-house culinary kitchen demo facility.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PB&J Commercial Agents industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Foodservice Equipment Distribution / Manufacturer's Representative Services
- NAICS
- Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (5080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Food Preparation Equipment & Smallwares Wholesale (AFAIALAK)
Keywords
Where PB&J Commercial Agents is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hillside
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
PB&J Commercial Agents business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Manufacturer's Representative Commissions: PB&J operates as a manufacturer's representative earning commissions on equipment sales. They represent multiple foodservice equipment manufacturers and earn revenue by facilitating sales to dealers, restaurants, and end users in their territory.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
PB&J Commercial Agents product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PB&J Commercial Agents is a manufacturer's representative group that sells premium commercial foodservice equipment on behalf of approximately 29 manufacturers across the Upper Midwest (Chicagoland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana). The company earns commissions by facilitating sales to dealers, restaurants, and end users, supported by a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen in Hillside, Illinois that provides hands-on equipment demonstrations, training, and pre-purchase product testing.
Product overview
PB&J Commercial Agents is a manufacturer's representative group serving the Chicagoland area, Wisconsin, and Northwest Indiana with premium foodservice equipment. The company represents approximately 29 manufacturers including MEIKO (commercial dishwashing and disinfection), Wood Stone (stone hearth ovens and the OneRev rotating pizza oven), Hatco (warming, holding, and induction equipment), Henkelman (vacuum packaging machines), LBC Bakery Equipment (rack ovens, deck ovens, proofers), Chill-Rite 32 (beverage dispensing systems with 99% keg yield), and Citrocasa (fresh juice equipment). PB&J complements its equipment sales with a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen demo facility in Hillside, IL, offering hands-on equipment demonstrations, training, and product testing. The company also provides equipment catalogs and line sheets from all represented manufacturers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Manufacturer's Representative Services Sales representation services for approximately 29 premium commercial foodservice equipment manufacturers across the Upper Midwest (Chicagoland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana). PB&J acts as an advocate to dealers, partner to manufacturers, and resource to specifiers, earning commissions on equipment sales facilitated through dealer networks and direct end-user relationships. Categories represented include cooking equipment, refrigeration, warewashing, holding/warming, baking, beverage systems, and vacuum packaging.
- Culinary Kitchen Demo Facility State-of-the-art culinary kitchen at 205 Fencl Lane, Hillside, Illinois (20 minutes from Chicago, O'Hare, and Schaumburg) offering personalized equipment demonstrations, hands-on training, and product/recipe testing prior to purchase. Features equipment from represented manufacturers including LBC, Wood Stone, Hatco, Dry Ager, Winston Foodservice, and commercial ovens and beverage equipment. Customers can book demos through the company's website to evaluate equipment in a working kitchen environment before making purchasing decisions.
- Equipment Catalogs and Line Sheets Downloadable catalogs and line sheets from represented manufacturers including Afinox, American Range, Bally, BK Resources, Chill-Rite, Citrocasa, Cookshack, Desco USA, Dry Ager, Dynamic, Gates, Hatco, Henkelman, Hestan, IMC/Teddy, LBC, MEIKO, Mibrasa, RDT, Tucs, Winston Foodservice, and Wood Stone. Available through the PB&J website catalogs resource page, enabling dealers, specifiers, and end users to access product specifications and pricing information.
Companies that use PB&J Commercial Agents
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
PB&J Commercial Agents technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
PB&J Commercial Agents partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
30 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Franke Coffee SystemscorePB&J represents Franke Coffee Systems, a manufacturer honored with a Kitchen Innovation Award at the 2024 National Restaurant Association Show for their Mytico Due espresso system. Franke offers modular coffee systems with Optical Cup Recognition technology.
- Atlanta Custom FabricatorscorePB&J represents Atlanta Custom Fabricators equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- AfinoxcorePB&J represents Afinox equipment including the Faster-e and Infinity-X product lines in the Upper Midwest region.
- American RangecorePB&J represents American Range, a proud member of the Hatco Corporation family, known for high-quality commercial kitchen equipment including stoves, ovens, fryers, griddles, cheesemelters, and broilers crafted in the USA.
- BallycorePB&J represents Bally Commercial Refrigeration products including walk-in coolers, freezers, and specialized refrigeration solutions.
- HatcocorePB&J represents Hatco, a leader in commercial foodservice equipment since 1950, offering warming, toasting, sanitizing, and refrigerated equipment. Hatco manufactures in Sturgeon Bay, WI.
- HenkelmancorePB&J represents Henkelman vacuum packaging machines, from table-top models to heavy-duty double chamber models. Henkelman received a Kitchen Innovation Award in 2024.
- Wood StonecorePB&J represents Wood Stone, a manufacturer of stone hearth and specialty commercial cooking equipment since 1990, with over 18,000 installations in 80+ countries. Based in Bellingham, WA.
- LBC Bakery EquipmentcorePB&J represents LBC Bakery Equipment, supplying over 1/3 of the top 75 supermarket operators in North America with rack ovens, deck ovens, and pizza conveyor ovens.
- MEIKOcorePB&J represents MEIKO, a global technology and service company offering commercial dishwashing systems, washer-disinfectors, and food waste disposal technology.
- Chill-RitecorePB&J represents Chill-Rite 32, specializing in remote beverage systems that guarantee 32-degree beer and 99% keg yields. Offers custom towers, Frost Rail systems, and Shock-A-Vodka Dome systems.
- CitrocasacorePB&J represents Citrocasa fresh juice juicers made from 304 food-grade stainless steel with patented Double Cover and Two-Zone Technology for food safety and hygiene.
- Winston FoodservicecorePB&J represents Winston Foodservice CVap ovens and holding equipment solutions for various foodservice operations including schools and healthcare.
- HestancorePB&J represents Hestan commercial kitchen equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- FaemacorePB&J represents Faema coffee systems in the Upper Midwest region.
- Dry AgercorePB&J represents Dry Ager professional dry aging and refrigerated display cabinets.
- CookshackcorePB&J represents Cookshack commercial smoking and roasting equipment.
- MibrasacorePB&J represents Mibrasa professional charcoal oven equipment.
- Gates ManufacturingcorePB&J represents Gates Manufacturing equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- Desco USAcorePB&J represents Desco USA equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- DynamiccorePB&J represents Dynamic equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- BK ResourcescorePB&J represents BK Resources commercial kitchen equipment and supplies.
- CharcorePB&J represents Char equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- IMC/TeddycorePB&J represents IMC/Teddy equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- Mod-U-ServecorePB&J represents Mod-U-Serve equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- Nichols Custom StainlesscorePB&J represents Nichols Custom Stainless equipment in the Upper Midwest region.
- OscartekcorePB&J represents Oscartek display cases and refrigeration equipment including the Provino, Rosa, Ventura, and Vision series.
- Refrigeration Design Technologies (RDT)corePB&J represents RDT refrigeration solutions including Eco-Cool, Eco-Smart, FlowPak, MultiRak, and PremierPak products.
- Tucs EquipmentcorePB&J represents Tucs Equipment including HP air compressors, sous vide tanks, and pasta cooking vessels.
- Ciam USAcorePB&J represents Ciam USA ice cream display and preservation equipment.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PB&J Commercial Agents competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Boelter Companies: Regional foodservice equipment and supplies distributor/representative serving the Midwest. Directly comparable to PB&J in function — facilitating commercial kitchen equipment sales to dealers and end users — with overlapping customer base in restaurants and hospitality.
- Central Restaurant Products: Multi-channel foodservice equipment and smallwares supplier to restaurants. Comparable to PB&J in sourcing and distributing commercial kitchen equipment to operators, though more retail/online-oriented versus PB&J's dealer-driven rep model.
- Clark Foodservice Equipment: Independent foodservice equipment manufacturer's representative serving multiple U.S. regions. Closely comparable to PB&J in operating model — multi-brand rep group earning commissions on commercial kitchen equipment sales through dealers — though broader geographically.
Broad incumbents
- Edward Don & Company: One of the largest broadline foodservice equipment and supplies distributors in the U.S. Comparable to PB&J as a channel intermediary placing commercial kitchen equipment with restaurants and hospitality operators, though at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
- TriMark: Largest U.S. foodservice equipment and supplies distributor. Highly comparable channel role to PB&J — represents multiple premium manufacturers and supplies dealers and operators — but at national scale with extensive design, installation and service capabilities.
- Singer Equipment: Mid-Atlantic-based broadline foodservice equipment distributor and rep group. Comparable business model to PB&J (multi-line representation and dealer distribution of commercial kitchen equipment) but operating at greater scale and in a different geography.
Regional players
- Bargreen Ellingson: Pacific Northwest-based foodservice equipment and supplies distributor/rep. Comparable to PB&J as a regional multi-line foodservice equipment representative serving restaurants and hospitality, but concentrated in the West Coast.
- The Sam Tell Companies: Northeast regional foodservice equipment distributor and manufacturer's representative. Comparable role to PB&J in representing equipment manufacturers and supplying restaurants/hospitality, though serving New York and the Northeast rather than the Upper Midwest.
- Hotel & Restaurant Supply (HRS): Foodservice equipment and supplies distributor serving hotels and restaurants in the Southeast U.S. Comparable to PB&J as a regional channel partner placing commercial kitchen equipment with hospitality end users.
Others
- Boelter Foodservice Solutions (Lampin/MA Group-style rep firms): Industry association (FEMA/MA based rep group networks) representing the broader class of independent manufacturer's representatives that PB&J belongs to. Useful as a peer reference for the rep-group channel PB&J operates within.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
PB&J Commercial Agents social profiles
Digital presencePB&J Commercial Agents financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PB&J Commercial Agents leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
PB&J Commercial Agents funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PB&J Commercial Agents M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PB&J Commercial Agents
What does PB&J Commercial Agents do?
PB&J Commercial Agents is a manufacturer's representative group that sells premium commercial foodservice equipment on behalf of approximately 29 manufacturers across the Upper Midwest (Chicagoland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana). The company earns commissions by facilitating sales to dealers, restaurants, and end users, supported by a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen in Hillside, Illinois that provides hands-on equipment demonstrations, training, and pre-purchase product testing.
Is PB&J Commercial Agents a public or private company?
PB&J Commercial Agents is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was PB&J Commercial Agents founded?
PB&J Commercial Agents was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is PB&J Commercial Agents based?
PB&J Commercial Agents is headquartered in Hillside, United States, in the North America region.
How does PB&J Commercial Agents make money?
One revenue line is on record: manufacturer's Representative Commissions.
Who are PB&J Commercial Agents's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Boelter Companies, Central Restaurant Products and Clark Foodservice Equipment. Broad incumbents are Edward Don & Company, TriMark and Singer Equipment. Regional players are Bargreen Ellingson, The Sam Tell Companies and Hotel & Restaurant Supply (HRS). Boelter Foodservice Solutions (Lampin/MA Group-style rep firms) is listed as an others.
Does PB&J Commercial Agents have an API?
No public API is recorded for PB&J Commercial Agents.
What industry is PB&J Commercial Agents in?
PB&J Commercial Agents's product category is Foodservice Equipment Distribution / Manufacturer's Representative Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAIALAK, Food Preparation Equipment & Smallwares Wholesale. Its NAICS code is 42512 and its SIC code is 5080.