About me
For twenty years I was the one ordering. Now I'm the one delivering.
I'm Neményi Károly and I live in Szeged. I didn't start out in trade: I spent twenty years as a bartender, a cook and a venue manager, and at every stop I was the one who noticed in the evening that something had run out. That's why the catalogue isn't what interests me — what runs out at your place is.
The portrait goes here — in work clothes, in natural light
I'm not a trained supplier; I'm a trained hospitality man. That sounds like a drawback at first, and sometimes it is: I don't know every article number by heart. But those twenty years taught me something no price list can — when and why the work stops in a business.
What follows isn't a CV. At each stop I've written down what I learned there, and what matters from it to you when you take on a supplier.
The route
Six stops, and every one of them left something in the work I do now.
- 01
Bartender
Hospitality · behind the counter
This is where I started. Serving, closing up, cleaning — and the same question every evening: what will we be short of tomorrow.
What I took from it
A shortage never shows up in the stockroom; it shows up at the worst possible moment, in front of the guest. Ever since, my question isn't what you order, but when it tends to run out.
- 02
Cook
The kitchen
In a kitchen, materials aren't abstract: a bad glove tears, a bad film won't cling, a bad degreaser won't lift the burnt-on stew off the plate.
What I took from it
I learned that the cheapest item is often the dearest, because you need it twice. So I'll tell you when it isn't worth buying the cheapest — and when it is.
- 03
Venue manager
Szeged · several venues at once
In Szeged I was responsible for the daily running, the staff and the business results of several hospitality venues at the same time. Ordering, stocktaking and keeping suppliers in step were on my desk.
What I took from it
That's how I know how much time it takes to assemble one delivery from three sources. Which is why the cleaning supplies and the packaging arrive together, on one invoice.
- 04
Steak specialist
Austria · the kitchen of a steak house
In Austria I started in the kitchen of a steak house. There, quality wasn't a matter of opinion: the standard was set, and every plate had to meet it.
What I took from it
Predictability is worth something in itself. I don't promise more than I can deliver — but what I've put in writing stands.
- 05
Filling station manager
Austria · high-traffic OMV · a year and a half
For a year and a half I managed a high-traffic OMV filling station: the team, stock management and the optimisation of turnover were mine.
What I took from it
That's where I learned to plan stock where traffic changes hour by hour. So I ask about your season and your opening hours before I suggest quantities.
- 06
Sole trader
Szeged · Neményi Cleaning and Packing
Today I carry the goods of two Hungarian manufacturers: the cleaning supplies and the packaging, in one delivery. I set off from Szeged and deliver across the whole of Hungary, and to the surrounding countries on an arranged run.
What I took from it
As a manager, my measure was always that a supplier should be a partner, not just a delivery. Now I'm the supplier, and the measure hasn't changed.
What this means for you
Four things that follow from it.
You don't have to explain your trade to me.
If you tell me Friday night is triple the traffic, you don't need to add what that means. I stood there too.
You speak to one person, start to finish.
Whoever picks up the phone is the same person who writes the quote, and the same person who puts the box down in your storeroom.
I won't bring you anything I wouldn't recommend to myself.
If I can see that what you're using now is better or cheaper, I'll say so. A bad switch costs you money, but it costs me your trust.
If you've read this far
Call me and tell me what runs out fastest at your place.
You don't need to prepare a list. Just tell me what kind of business you run and what always goes sooner than you expect. I'll ask the rest.
Call me directly+36 30 384 2067
Neményi Károly
sole trader · Szeged