Eric D. Weiss is the President and CEO of Elite Foodservice Equipment Co., Inc.

Born into the industry, Eric utilized his more than 20 years of experience when he formed Elite in January of 2000.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Eric entered the industry as a teen, where he worked in the warehouse of Superior Restaurant Equipment Co. during holiday breaks and summer vacations throughout high school and college. There, he acquainted himself with the various products and services offered by a traditional food service equipment and supply dealership.

After graduating from SUNY Stony Brook, he was offered a position with the company as a Sales Trainee. In this role, Eric served in Superior’s customer service department until such time he was ready to pursue and manage accounts of his own. This position put him on course to develop relationships within the corporate and institutional marketplace in which Superior maintained a strong presence. As a sales representative initially calling on accounts for their everyday supply and equipment needs, Eric took notice of Superior’s design and contract department and rapidly developed a yearning to learn that aspect of the business. Before too long, Eric was working with his customers with regard to changing out large-scale equipment, helping them with re-designs of their kitchen and servery areas and taking on project management of the work he was booking.

After seven years with Superior, Eric joined Elaine Products, Co. as their Vice President of Design and Equipment. In this role, he was responsible for all projects and equipment sales for the entire company. In his three years with Elaine Products Co., a significant change in the industry was dawning. Traditional methods of design by manual drafting were now being overshadowed by a new technology called CAD, or Computer Aided Design.

Eric was cognizant of the fact that in order to succeed in the industry, utilizing this new technology was key for his personal advancement. He joined the New Jersey-based Reliable Triple-Cee Co. as Vice President of their Corporate Division. Reliable was the first “kid on the block” in the Metro-New York area to utilize the new CAD technology in their design division. During his four-year tenure with them, Eric gained extensive knowledge and understanding of utilizing CAD as it applied to the food service equipment industry.

Hooking up with a couple of his old buddies from Elaine Products, Eric joined Wes Design & Supply Co. in 1993 to represent them in his well-heeled corporate marketplace. As Vice President of Corporate Sales, he expanded their business while at the same time continued to strengthen his relationships and capabilities until such time that he felt it was time to fulfill his career-long dream of forming his own company. After seven years with Wes Design, Eric said goodbye to his friends and co-workers and embarked on a new endeavor.

On January 1, 2000 Eric, along with two employees, Karen Cashetta and Ivan Weiss, proudly announced Elite Foodservice Equipment Co., Inc. as the first dealership of the new millennium.

Since that day, Elite has enjoyed a tremendous reception and growth throughout the marketplace. As a result of their rapid success, they have moved four times to date and currently boast a staff of more than 25 dedicated employees, including Karen and Ivan.

Eric is an active member of The Society for Food Service Management.