Curto's Appliances – Westchester County, NYC

Dear DCS,
How are things out in Cali? Errr, I mean in Kiwi-land? Wait, I know you’re somewhere out in the Pacific Rim…

Anyway, I am writing to make a few suggestions on how you may be able to improve your product thus goose sales a bit northward. Hopefully I won’t come across as a pompous know-it-all whose appliance pedigree is siting behind a computer all day shooting barely profitable prices at people.
I write to you as not only a valued dealer of your product but also as an admirer of your heritage as a premium cooking appliance company. I come to you with knowledge culled from talking to countless shoppers. Their word is gold. I am only a messenger.

Considering your reputation, product quality/performance and the relatively low pricing you offer in the high end, I don’t know why I’m not selling more of your product. I mean, let’s look at what you offer:
– gas and dual fuel styles
– an assortment of sizes – 30, 36, 48 (who needs a 60″?!)
- 5 burners on the 30″
- full extension telescopic racks
- a concealed lower element in the dual fuel ranges which gives you 12% more usable space
- infrared broiler in gas ranges
- dual flow brass burners (stronger, last longer!)
- great F&#&# prices for a high end range!

Ok what’s not to love about your product?

Your handle.
Your toe kick.

This is what customers are telling us. Lots of them.

I would say that the DCS range is the most polarizing product that we offer in the showroom.
It’s either loved, or abhorred. And it all comes down to looks. The aesthetic. Dig?

I appreciate the fact that your designers wanted to move the range in a different stratosphere looks-wise than the Viking, Wolf, Thermador, Monogram and your lil cousin Capital.
But I feel that the thrust for uniqueness was pressed down to hard.

My wish is that you offer a different handle option as well as a different toe kick.
Make those changes and sales are going up. Promise.
AD

The DCS RGU366 36″ Gas Range – Yo I’m not feeling the accordion toe kick. Please give us another option!

I had a customer email me yesterday stating that after mulling over about 5 different high-end grills he’s opting to go with a DCS. Not surprising. Since April we’ve sold more DCS grills than any other brand. It seems that DCS is still a name that people can trust in the out door space. And you can’t make light of the pricing…they’re a good thousand or less than their main competition.
Now if they could only parlay some of this outdoor love into their indoor business…

Aside from the price point, why are people running with it? I think it shows really well. Even though we are displaying it on a cart (still patiently waiting for my island display) shoppers can really appreciate the finish and craftsmanship as well as the unique features like the cast stainless grates, sloped racks and grease management system. If you open the door, handle the grated, tap the burners, play with the knobs, you’ll see you are dealing with the utmost quality. Sure, the free side burner is nice but the promo isn’t selling this product. The product is.

Heading into NYC to talk turkey with Surjit Kalsi from Capital Range Corp.
Man is a legend in this business. Had his hands involved with the Garland stove, the original Viking range, creator of DCS and Capital. I hear he can levitate as well.
Lots of info coming down the pike…stay tuned!

After we were finished taping we had almost 25 minutes of footage on hand.
25 mins? Holy shizzle, the Appliance Dude can rap when it comes to grills.
We edited down to 10 minutes and I’ll have a part 2 which brings up a few other points about the DCS grills.
All in all – DCS is the patriarch of outdoor pro grills. Your money is well spent here.
Hit it!

PS – YouTube’s kicks the Sh&% out of the video quality during the upload. To watch in HD just toggle the little switch on the bottom of the video window.

Shop for DCS Grills at Curtos.com

Outdoor kitchen inquiries are starting to build. Oh, I’m not talking just a simple Weber grill stuck in a corner of your outdoor space. I’m talking full-on kitchens: grills, outdoor fridges, warming drawers, kegerators, ice makers, etc etc etc.

What am I selling this year? For the full suite of outdoor kitchens we’ll probably move a decent amount of Lynx and DCS equipment as they have the most comprehensive outdoor lineup. I’m sure there will be a fair amount of Wolf grills (which I currently own) as well. This will be the first full season with Viking outdoor, so we’ll have to see if there is movement on that line. It’s hard to tell with the new owners rocking the Viking ship so hard in their initial stages of ownership, so I don’t know what availability will look like.

So if you have an existing grill it’s never too early to get it cleaned and primed for Spring searing action.
And if you are in the market for one, look no further than Curto’s for your outdoor kitchen!

Lynx Grill Head Set in Stone

…I feel like I should be selling more of this brand.

….company has a longstanding reputation for all-pro cooking performance

…they are featured on America’s Test Kitchen! That means all 5 people who watch it week are potentially exposed to the DCS brand (just kidding…I like the show alot, so that makes 6 people watching!)

…I have a feeling that consumers aren’t doing backflips over the recent re-design of the DCS cooking appliances.

To that last point, some of the feedback that I have received is that folks think the handles are too squared-off and thick, and they aren’t feeling the gargantuan kickplate on the bottom of the ranges.

whisper….I have heard, unofficially, that DCS may be offering an option for a different handle and kickplate. More to come if this is proven as FACT.

Welcome to the Lynx Temple! All Bow Before Pharoah!

Appliance Dude riffin’……

We are now ramping into the sweet spot of the outdoor kitchen/grill sales season and I have a few notes to share. People are definitely spending the loot on the high-end grills and sales are skewed heavily towards Lynx outdoor kitchens and grills. Here are some notes to digest, broken down by brand.

Lynx – 36″ and 42″ grills with ProSear have been the movers. Had a few bites on the new, step-down L500 series but there has been a recall on the carts (easy fix) so don’t know if that’s causing some consternation with consumers. Most of the lynx grills we’ve sold are just heads as they are being used in a built-in outdoor kitchen setup. Of course Lynx is touting their new brass burners as the finest thing since inexpensive medical insurance. Will these new burners markedly change your life? As one customer said to me “You can’t tell me that these burners are going to make my food taste any better”. Agree on that point, however I can tell that you that the brass burners will in fact last longer as they won’t corrode as easily as stainless under high heat and they hold and radiate heat better.
Translation – built to last, food cooked more evenly (if that’s what you want).

Wolf – Haven’t had much play on the Wolf grills yet. Can’t figure out why. Price point? Can’t be, because the Lynx is just as expensive when you factor everything in. I own one, I like it…see my tuna dish below. Wolf’s making a big push in this space, all other competitors beware…the Wolf will roar(howl)!
I made this lovely treat on a 36″ Wolf OG36 grill – how’s that for a sear?!

Seared Tuna Courtesy of My Wolf Outdoor Grill and My Deft Touch.

DCS – the grandaddy of the outdoor grill space and the home of the lifetime warranty on your grill. Beat that! People come into the showroom and brag that their DCS grill is still kicking after 10-15 years. These are the guys who really invested in this space. This is their heritage. They’ve definitely had the thunder stick taken away by Lynx but it’s still a brand that consumers are very happy with and it comes in at a great price point and they are offering free goodies with the purchase of at least a 36″ grill.
What I love about DCS is two-fold:
1 – Grease Management system which channels all the yuck (runoff) into a trough thus negating (how about minimizing) flare ups. Cool.
2 – The entire grill surface can be converted into a sear station. That’s nice, so we don’t need a dedicated searing area like everyone else does which means less space for normal grilling. DCS gets it.

Capital – was a strong (somewhat) seller last summer. This year, very little action. People simply don’t know the name. Maybe it’s known more for its indoor product. Had a few people biting on them lately, if they buy I will get the feedback and pass it along.

Viking – haven’t had anyone mention Viking for outdoor pieces. Probably would help if I placed the product on my web site. We just started selling Viking again after a looooooong lay-off. Will work up to it. I know they streamlined the outdoor product line so that’s a nice thing. Don’t want to confuse consumers with too many skus….anyone want a Viking branded vegetable/fish grilling basket? Or Viking branded wood chips? Time to get back to core competencies. Make killer product, the consumers will come.

The DCS ranges are not for the weary. The designs are out of this world…literally. Why can I see this being used by the Jetsons.
Very contemporary, actually I wouldn’t hesitate in calling it futuristic looking. And yes, it boasts the same killer DCS performance.

As our new Capital display went into our showroom the other week, I took note of the fact that it was sitting right next to the DCS vignette.

How ironic.

As some of you may know, when one studies the family tree of professional ranges, you will clearly see that DCS begat Capital over a decade ago.
And it’s a relationship that at least one of the parties still likes to talk about. Our friends at Capital (at least one source that I frequently converse with)
likes to think that they have taken the best of what DCS was known for and advanced it. My guy at DCS doesn’t really talk about Capital as his party line is that DCS is too focused
on their products than what competition is spouting. Cool.
It is interesting how DCS’ new ranges have completely altered their look. They went from a pro/restaurant/man-sized slab of stainless look to what I call the
Jetson/ArtDeco/PostModern vibe. I mean, there is NOTHING out there that looks like this. Insanely brilliant? Or just insane? We’ll have to see, but no longer will I hear how
Capital ranges look just like DCS product. Not a chance.
I’ll dedicate an individual post to the DCS range (it definitely deserves it) but for now, let’s call up the Tale of the Tape and compare the DCS and Capital 36″ gas ranges
on feature-set only. You know that this is only part of the game for me…I have a laser-focus on overall company-health and service network for the products. I can tell you that in the metro NYC market the service is spot-on for both brands. If you live in the Badlands, you may have a problem getting a faulty burner fixed.

Ed. Note – I’m not comparing the Capital Culinarian to this DCS…at least not yet. Let’s get the comparable technology (sealed burners) on the table first.

DCS RGU366 – 36″ Gas Range – $4890

Recommended Ventilation: Minimum 600 – 1200 CFM, VS36 – 36″ Pro Wall Mount Vent Hood IVS40 – 40″ Pro Island Vent Hood, ES36 -36″ E Pro Vent Hood

The DCS RGU366 36" Gas Range

Capital GCR366 – 36″ Gas Range – $4926

30,000 BTU oven for uniform baking

Capital GCR366 36" Gas Range