CHICAGO, April 10, 2026 — What will Sysco’s $29.1 billion purchase of Restaurant Depot mean for food-away-from-home businesses? That all depends on where they are in the supply chain, according to comments from Sysco CEO Kevin Hourican.
Restaurants and other foodservice outlets that buy supplies from Restaurant Depot and its sister Jetro chain will not see an increase in prices post-acquisition, Hourican promised during an appearance on Jim Kramer’s CNBC program “Mad Money.”
The prices charged by the complementary cash-and-carry chains will remain 15% to 20% below what Sysco charges for goods delivered by its trucks, he indicated.
Kramer pressed his guest. Even with gasoline prices soaring and food inflation running hot?, he asked.
No problem, Hourican responded.
The reason he gave for that confidence is unlikely to be welcome news for the manufacturers and suppliers of the goods Sysco sells to foodservice customers. Hourican explained that the addition of 167 Restaurant Depot and Jetro stores will significantly swell the buyer’s purchasing power. That additional negotiating leverage will ensure the distributor’s costs and prices remain “efficient,” Hourican said.
“We know we can buy better,” he said.
Some of the products featured in the retail outlets could be added to the Sysco brand’s product array, Hourican added.
As Kramer noted, Sysco is forecasting the cash-and-carry acquisition will swell the broadline distributor’s revenues by about 20%.
Sysco announced last week that it intends to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot, parent of the two cash-and-carry chains, in a combination of cash and stock. The deal will combine the food-away-from-home industry’s largest broadline distributor, Sysco, with the largest cash-and-carry operation, Restaurant Depot.
Part of the strategy, said Hourican, will be opening hundreds of additional Restaurant Depot outposts.
In addition, he revealed, the company intends to convert Restaurant Depot and Jetro users into Sysco broadline customers as they grow in size and geographic extent.