CHICAGO, March 30, 2026 — Sysco is buying its way into the cash-and-carry distribution market with the purchase of Restaurant Depot’s parent company for $29.1 billion.
The deal will instantly make Sysco the largest player in the $60-billion-plus cash-and-carry market, according to the buyer.
The acquisition will significantly expand Sysco’s penetration of the independent-restaurant sector, the market segment sporting the highest profit margins for distributors.
Cash-and-carry operations like Restaurant Depot and sister chain Jetro Cash & Carry are crucial sources of supplies for independents whose purchasing volume falls below the minimum order levels set by many broadline distributors. Instead of being resupplied by trucks pulling up to the back door, low-volume places re-up by shopping at cash-and-carries, or what are essentially big-box retail stores charging wholesale prices.
The Jetro chain is included in the purchase, which will add 166 cash-and-carry stores in 35 states to Sysco’s already-extensive distribution network. The stores currently serve about 725,000 restaurants and onsite foodservice facilities, generating sales for parent company Jetro Restaurant Depot of about $16 billion in 2025.
The company claims to be the food-away-from-home industry’s largest cash-and-carry operation.
Sysco said it anticipates adding more than 125 Restaurant Depot and Jetro sites, in part by diverting a portion of the huge product volume it delivers via trucks to brick-and-mortar outlets.
"We see a long runway,” commented Sysco CEO Kevin Hourican.
In announcing the deal, Sysco cited estimates that the cash-and-carry market currently enjoys total sales of $60 billion to $70 billion.
The buyer is already by far the food-away-from-home's largest distributor, with annual sales of $81.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 28, 2025. Its 337 warehouses currently supply 730,000 food-away-from-home facilities in 10 countries.
News of the acquisition comes less than a year after Sysco revealed plans to test Sysco-branded cash-and-carries in the corporation’s home city of Houston .
More recently, the company disclosed plans to add more value-priced options to its product mix.
Food-cost inflation has become a major source of worry for restaurants, many of which contend they can’t keep raising menu prices to preserve their profit margins.
Sysco said it will pay $21.6 million in cash and 91.5 million shares of its stock for Jetro. The total price is a 14.6X multiple of Jetro’s 2025 operating income.