About
Sur La Table
To create the best place for cooks to shop-its a goal thats changed
little since Sur La Tables inception. Founded in 1972 by culinary aficionado
Shirley Collins, Sur La Table was created at a time when it was difficult
to find many of the premium-quality culinary tools Shirley had found on
her travels.
Shirley began her dream with an intimate retail space located in Seattles
Pike Place Market, the oldest continuously operated farmers market in
the United States. As someone who cooks with fresh local ingredients,
Shirley chose a location that made Seattles bounty of fresh produce and
seafood easily accessible to Sur La Table customers.
Word quickly spread about the quirky little shop packed to the rafters
with everything for cooks. Guided by Shirleys culinary passion and prowess,
Sur La Tables expansive selection of hard-to-find and cutting-edge utensils
soon had food enthusiasts from around the globe making a pilgrimage to
Seattle.
Many successful years later, in 1995, Sur La Table was purchased by the
Behnke family of Seattle (Sally Behnke, John and Shari Behnke, Carl and
Rene Behnke). Kindred culinary spirits, the Behnkes soon set out to share
this wonderful Seattle institution with other cities.
They continued growing the company, opening new stores and culinary programs every year. In 1999 Sur La Table launched an online gift registry and its e-commerce website.
Opening a second store in Berkeley that same year, Sur La Table has since expanded nationwide, with more stores opening in 2006. In 1999 Sur La Table
launched an online gift
registry and its e-commerce website.
Today, Sur La Table is a multi-million-dollar business. Still based in
Seattle, its owned by a group of private investors, including the Behnke
family. Carl Behnke is Chairman of the Board of Directors, while Rene
Behnke continues to help shape the Sur La Table culture with her extensive
culinary travels and knowledge of cooking, in her role as President Emeritus.
More than three decades after first opening its doors, Sur La Table is
still the culinary mecca it set out to be. With thousands of products
from vendors worldwide, it competes on a global level, attracting
new devotees with its dedication to culinary diversity, innovation and
authenticity.
Ownership
Sur La Table is a privately held company.
Culinary Program and
Events
In addition to expansion, the Behnkes added a very distinctive element
to the Sur La Table mix-culinary classes. Starting with the first program
at Berkeley in 1996, the culinary program has since grown to include 22
stores, and is the largest nationwide, avocational culinary
program in the United States. Classes range from beginner to expert and
spotlight dozens of renowned local and visiting chefs and cookbook authors
each season. Summer and weekend classes for kids are also a regular part of the curriculum.
Cookbook authors are guests at all retail locations and have included
such notable culinary celebrities as Paul Bocuse, Alton Brown, Julia Child,
Tyler Florence, Ina Garten, Marcella Hazan, Thomas Keller, Joan Nathan,
Jamie Oliver, Jacques Ppin, Rachael Ray, Art Smith, Alice Waters, and
Martin Yan.
Culinary and team building classes are taught by local and visiting chefs
including renowned chefs such as Flo Braker, Georgeanne Brennan, Hugh
Carpenter, Louise Fiszer, Joyce Goldstein, Giuliano Hazan, Kasma Loha-unchit,
Emily Luchetti, James McNair, Dominique Macquet, Deborah Madison, Nick
Malgieri, Alice Medrich, Caprial Pence, Peter Reinhart, Rosa Ross, Rick
Rodgers, Julie Sahni, Marie Simmons, Jacques Torres, Jerry Traunfeld and
Joanne Weir.
Awards
In 1999 Sur La Table was the recipient of the "American Retail Excellence"
award from the National Retail Federation Foundation in recognition of
innovation, sustained excellence and best professional practices. In 2000
Sur La Table was named "Global Retail Innovator for Independent American
Retailers" by National Housewares Manufacturers Association and the
Gourmet Retailer, and the "Global gia (Global Innovator
Award) Honoree" for excellence in housewares merchandising at the International
Housewares Show. Ernst & Young named Carl and Renée Behnke "Pacific
Northwest's Year 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Retail/Consumer
Products."
On January 18, 2005, the second annual Housewares Design Awards, presented by HomeWorld Business, awarded Sur La Table
"Merchandising Excellence in the Cookware & Bakeware category". Retail honorees were chosen based on their commitment to
presenting innovative products and the creativity of their display and merchandising techniques. Honorees were selected by
HomeWorld Business editors.
Philanthropy
Sur La Table proudly supports Americas Second Harvest, the Nations Food Bank Network, the nation's largest charitable
hunger-relief organization with a Network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food-rescue programs serving all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Networksecures anddistributesnearly two billion pounds
of donated food and grocery products annually.The America's Second HarvestNetwork supports approximately 50,000 local charitable
agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and
Kids Cafes. Each year, the America's Second Harvest Network provides food assistanceto more than 23 million low-income hungry
people in the United States, including more thannine million children and nearlythree million seniors. For more on America's
Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
Due to our long-term commitment to America's Second Harvest we are unable to assist individual charitable organizations with
procurement requests.
(The preceding Sur La Table
section is provided for informational purposes only and was
retrieved on March 17, 2006 from http://www.surlatable.com/general/about_us.cfm) Back to TopSur La Table Shipping Information
• How long do deliveries
take?
We make every effort to ship your order promptly.
1. Standard Ground Delivery: Please expect your order
within 7-10 business days for in stock items.
2. Express Delivery: Additional $9.95 to Standard Ground
Shipping Fees. Takes between 3-5 business days for delivery. During the
Holidays expect it to be 5 days. Heavy or bulk items may not qualify.
View the chart below for Express Delivery information:
| Place Order On: |
Receive Order On: |
| Sunday |
Thursday |
| Monday |
Thursday |
| Tuesday |
Friday |
| Wednesday |
Monday |
| Thursday |
Tuesday |
| Friday |
Wednesday |
| Saturday |
Thursday |
3. Overnight shipping: We only offer this method of shipping
if you call our customer service center at 1-800-243-0852
by 10:00 am, PST, on the day of the order.
•Some products will be drop-shipped directly from our vendors. Drop-shipped
products are noted in their description on our site and in the catalog.
Please allow 4-6 weeks shipping time.
•P.O. Box addresses can only be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service.
• Will I receive a shipping confirmation of my order and
how can I check its status?
We will send you an e-mail as soon as your order has been shipped which
will include the information to track your order.
• What are your shipping charges?
Fees for Standard Ground Shipping are in the chart below.
All shipping fees are calculated based on merchandise total. Additional
fees may apply.
| $0.00 | - |
$15.00 |
.... |
$5.50 | |
| $15.01 | - |
$25.00 |
.... |
$6.50 | |
| $25.01 | - |
$35.00 |
.... |
$7.50 | |
| $35.01 | - |
$45.00 |
.... |
$8.50 | |
| $45.01 | - |
$55.00 |
.... |
$10.50 | |
| $55.01 | - |
$75.00 |
.... |
$11.50 | |
| $75.01 | - |
$95.00 |
.... |
$13.50 | |
| $95.01 | - |
$150.00 |
.... |
$16.50 | |
| $150.01 | - |
and over 11% of merchandise total |
|
An additional charge of $7.50 (per address) will be added for orders
shipped to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Express Delivery: Add $9.95 to Standard Ground Shipping Fees.
• What does "additional charges may apply" mean?
Additional fees are charged for certain items, because of their weight
and size. Specific items will be noted in the catalog or online.
• Do you charge shipping for Gift Cards?
- Standard shipping - no charge. Please select a gift card that is not designated "Express" or "Overnight"
- Express Gift Card - $6.50 (already included in the price of the card)
- Overnight - $10.00 (already included in the price of the card)
• How does "multiple shipping" work?
Using our multiple shipping functionality you can ship items in your shopping bag to different addresses at the same time. For example, if you'd like to ship 2 of any item to your mom and 1 item to your aunt on the same order, just follow these easy steps.
- Click on the SHIP TO MULTIPLE ADDRESSES button and any items with a quantity greater than 1 will "split" into single units. This will allow you to choose separate shipping addresses for all the items in your cart. Additionally, you can change the quantity of each item as needed (left side of page, change the "quantity" field and click on "Update Quantities" button).
- Next to each item on the right side of the page, select an address from the "Choose shipping address" drop down menu (you can add as many addresses as you'd like to your "Address Book"*).
- Repeat these steps if you wish to split additional items (with multiple quantities) in your shopping bag.
*To add a new address to your address book, just click on the Add Address link found on the Shipping Options page. A pop up form will appear - fill out the form and save the address. (Provide a "nickname" for the address, i.e., Mom, Work, Aunt Sue, etc. This will help you remember who you're selecting to ship to).
Click on "Continue Checkout" which will take you back to the checkout process.
|
(The preceding Sur La Table Shipping
Information section is provided for informational
purposes only and was retrieved on March 17, 2006 from http://www.surlatable.com/general/faq.cfm#shipping) |
