User:Beardog2004/sandbox

Headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, The Restaurant Store is a local restaurant supply store with several locations that offers different types of foodservice equipment and supplies, several purchasing options, and a large number of CFSP certified customer service staff. Their brick and mortar locations are supported by an ecommerce website that serves as a research tool and purchasing platform for customers. The Restaurant Store is a division of Clark Associates, Inc., which was rated as the fourth largest distributor of restaurant supplies by Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Magazine (FE&S) in 2014. Clark Associates, Inc. was rated as Central Pennsylvania's fastest growing company in 2013 by the Central Penn Business Journal and was awarded FE&S' Dealer of the Year Award in 2015. The Restaurant Store serves Harrisburg, Lancaster, the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, and Reading, Pennsylvania, as well as Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland.

History
The first Restaurant Store opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1993 and several other stores were established across central Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware over the next two decades. The store serving the Lehigh Valley came second, opening in 1995 but moving to a new building nearly 10 years later. The Philadelphia location followed in 1997, Wilmington in 1999, Harrisburg in 2003, Reading in 2005, and finally Baltimore in 2013.

Charitable initiatives
As a subsidiary of Clark Associates, Inc., The Restaurant Store contributes through the Clark Associates Charitable Foundation. The foundation raises money through donations to give back to the local community in a number of ways, including academic scholarships. In addition to annual contributions by the Clark Associates Charitable Foundation, the Restaurant Stores support the communities around each location through organizations like Boy Scout chapters, local churches, and area food banks. Some notable causes that the Restaurant Store has supported include Relay for Life, Living Generosity, Habitat for Humanity, Opportunity House, Family Life Global Ministries, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Southeast Baltimore Police Explorer Program, Helping Hands Fund, and the American Red Cross.