Chapotraphouse

its a pain in the ass to set u on your own, but you might have a "buying coop" near you. generally, they (a member) has access to a commercial space with a loading dock that doesn't require a liftgate. the really slick ones have freezer and cooler space, because otherwise its coolers with ice and members have to be more organized for pickuo on delivery days.

but the whole point is that you can get in on bulk/institutional/restaurant supply ordering, split bulk orders, and take advantage of pretty impressive discounts.

as youve experienced, institutional/wholesale (business to business) markets have access to a wider array of products than us retail suckers, and generally below per unit costs with higher quality options.

there lots of these among old school hippies in areas that don't have one of those co-op grocers. frequently, those weird little co-op grocers are the mature version of a buying co-op.