The kitchen opens at five. The delivery did not come.
A short-shipped case, an ingredient the distributor left off the truck, a sample a buyer wants this afternoon. We pick it up now and drive it straight there — anywhere in California, 24 hours a day.
Restaurants, bars and hotel kitchens. Grocers and specialty markets. Commissaries and central kitchens. Bakeries and coffee roasters. Food and beverage distributors, breweries and wineries. Caterers, venues and event companies. Food manufacturers and co-packers.
Distributors and cash-and-carry houses, produce and seafood markets, warehouses and cold-storage docks, commissaries, manufacturing plants, co-packers, and your own other locations.
Restaurant back doors, hotel and venue loading docks, store receiving, grocery backrooms, event sites, test kitchens and offices — in any city in California.
Food and drink move on the clock. A case that arrives at nine in the morning is inventory. The same case at six in the evening is a table that walked out. So the only thing that matters on a food run is whether the item is in the building before the doors open, the line starts or the truck leaves. That is the whole job, and it is the job we have been doing across California since 1996.
Tell dispatch what the item is and how big it is. We send the vehicle that fits it — a car for a box, a cargo van for a stack of cases, a box truck or stake bed for pallets and equipment.
The truck came, the invoice says twelve and there are nine. We go back to the distributor, pick up the difference and bring it to you before service.
One of your kitchens has it and the other one needs it. Commissary to store, store to store, kitchen to event. Same driver, straight across.
Cases, kegs, taproom supplies and samples for a buyer or a tasting. We move beer, wine and spirits all the time. Just tell dispatch the load contains alcohol when you book, so a driver aged 21 or over is assigned to the run.
An event has one start time. We move trays, rentals, serving equipment and the thing somebody forgot, straight to the venue dock.
A walk-in, a fryer, an espresso machine or a POS terminal is down and the part is across town. We get it to your technician while they are still on site.
Product samples to a buyer, a spec sheet or signed contract that has to be an original, or a sample going to a testing laboratory.
When the load is bigger than a van, it moves as Expedited Freight on a box truck or a stake bed, with a liftgate where the dock needs one. Same dispatch, same tracking, same proof of delivery. See Expedited Freight →
Not every food run needs refrigeration, and the ones that do need the right answer before a driver is sent, not after. So when you call, say what the product is and what temperature it has to hold.
Dry goods, packaging, canned and bottled product, equipment and paperwork ride as a normal direct run.
For a short, direct run we use insulated coolers with gel packs or dry ice, loaded at the pickup and opened at the drop-off.
If a shipment needs a refrigerated vehicle for its whole journey, dispatch tells you that when you call, before you book, so you can plan around it.
Your item stays with one driver from pickup to drop-off. Nothing is moved to a warehouse, sorted into a hub or handed between vehicles. You can follow the run live, and you get proof of delivery with the time, the receiver’s name and a signature.
Every one of these is a direct run. The difference is how fast the driver gets to your pickup and how the shipment travels when the distance is too far to drive.
| Service | When it fits | How it moves |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Service starts in an hour and the item is not in the building. | The closest available driver is sent straight to your pickup. Nothing else is on board. |
| Rush | Needed today, as fast as it can be done. | Most rush pickups happen within 30 minutes of the call. Dispatch gives you a real pickup time before the run starts. |
| Same-Day | Needed before you close or before the next shift. | Picked up and delivered the same day, on a window you set with dispatch. |
| Next Flight Out | The product is at the other end of the state and a drive is too slow. | A driver takes it to the airport and tenders it to the next available flight. A driver at the other end collects it and completes the delivery. |
| Expedited Freight | Pallets, cases by the skid, kegs in volume or equipment. | Box truck or stake bed, liftgate where the dock needs one. Expedited Freight |
Commissary drops, daily produce runs, bakery routes, linen and supply loops: those do not need a phone call every morning. They run as scheduled routes on a fixed timetable with one invoice. See scheduled courier routes →
A live person answers the phone, day or night. You can also send the details through the online request form.
Pickup, drop-off, piece count, vehicle and a real pickup time, before anything moves.
Count checked at the pickup, then straight to the delivery. You can follow the vehicle live.
Time, receiver name and signature, sent to whoever needs it on your side.
Have these ready and the run is quoted and moving in one phone call.
Standard liability is $150 per package unless you declare a higher value and pay for it when you hand over the shipment. Additional cargo insurance is available. Tell dispatch what the shipment is worth when you call, so the right coverage is in place before pickup.
Redline Courier Service covers the whole state — roughly 500 cities, from the Mexican border to the Oregon line. If your supplier is in one city and your kitchen is in another, that is a single direct run for us.
Delivering every week? Set up recurring runs and one invoice. Open a Redline Courier Service account →
It is a same-day delivery service for the food and drink trade. One driver picks up your product at a supplier, a market, a commissary or another of your own locations and drives it straight to the kitchen, store or venue that needs it, with no other stops and no warehouse in the middle. Redline Courier Service has been running these deliveries across California since 1996, 24 hours a day.
Call and a live person answers, day or night. Most rush pickups happen within 30 minutes of the call. The real time depends on where your pickup is and where the closest driver is, so dispatch gives you an actual pickup time before the run starts rather than a promise.
Tell dispatch what the product is and what temperature it has to hold. Short direct runs travel in insulated coolers with gel packs or dry ice. If a shipment needs a refrigerated vehicle for its whole journey, dispatch will tell you that when you call, before you book, so you are never finding out after the fact.
Yes. Dispatch is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. Restaurants, hotels and events run on nights and weekends, so the phone is always answered by a person.
A single box rides in a car. A stack of cases goes in a cargo van. Pallets, kegs in volume and equipment move as Expedited Freight on a box truck or a stake bed, with a liftgate where the dock needs one. Tell dispatch the piece count, weight and size and the right vehicle is sent the first time.
Yes. Commissary drops, produce runs, bakery routes and supply loops run as scheduled courier routes on a fixed timetable, with one invoice instead of a booking every morning. Scheduled courier routes.
Yes. Give dispatch the supplier’s address, the will-call desk or dock, the contact name and the invoice or purchase order number. The driver collects the shipment, checks the count against the paperwork and brings both to you.
Give dispatch the receiving hours and a phone number for the person on site. If the driver arrives and nobody can take the shipment, the driver calls dispatch and dispatch calls you before anything else happens. Nothing is left where it should not be.
Yes. You can follow the run live from pickup to drop-off, and you get proof of delivery with the time, the receiver’s name and a signature. That is usually what settles a dispute with a supplier or a venue.
Standard liability is $150 per package unless you declare a higher value and pay for it when you hand over the shipment. Additional cargo insurance is available. Tell dispatch the value when you call so the right coverage is in place before pickup.
No. Call dispatch or send a request online and we quote the run before anything moves. Restaurant groups, distributors and grocers that deliver often can open an account for one invoice and faster booking. Individual customers are welcome too.
Tell us what is missing, where it is and when it has to be in the building.