Buying an existing restaurant is a little like buying a used car. You can kick the tires, look under the hood, check the mileage and get a great deal - until you drive it for a few days. Thats when all the imperfections start becoming rattles, dents you didn’t notice, sputtering engine noises and the flat spare tire you didn’t check until you needed it.

Restaurants all have their imperfections. Finding them before you buy can be extremely difficult. In The Restaurant Ebook, I spend quite a bit of time explaining the benefits and pitfalls of buying an existing restaurant. There is also a checklist to evaluate just how good the opportunity may be, but in the end it is “caveat emptor” - buyer beware!

A few of the benefits of a restaurant purchase rather than starting a new operation are;

• Existing customers that may cost time and money to attract in a new operation.
• Stiff regulations for new restaurants may make an existing restaurant attractive due to being “grandfathered” in around new requirements.
• Staff may already be in place.
• Equipment and furnishings that cost a lot less than new.

Some of the pitfalls of buying a restaurant are;

• Liens and debts that are difficult to find unless you know where to look.
• Equipment that looks ok, but quickly falls apart due to temporary fixes.
• More unhappy guests than happy ones. Old dissatisfied customers are harder to get back than attracting than new ones.
• Regulatory violations that may cost you thousands to fix.

Unless you have the experience, never try to buy a restaurant without a lot of research and discovery. You have to know what to look for and where to find it.

If you would like a copy of our Checklist for Buying an Existing Restaurant, just email us.

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook