How to Sell a Restaurant Quickly

Price your restaurant to sell if you need to unload it quickly.

You may have many reasons you need to unload your restaurant, from financial troubles to a move into retirement. When financial issues arise, you may have a need to sell your restaurant quickly, thus unloading the expenses associated with it. Whatever the reason, if you must sell your restaurant quickly, keep a few things in mind.

Instructions

1. Price the restaurant to sell. The more competitively you price it, the faster it will sell. Check out other sale prices for properties around you and go lower to attract potential buyers. However, keep in mind that you can't go too low, or people will wonder what is wrong with the space. Defer to the expertise of a commercial real estate agent to determine how low you should go.

2. Spruce up the space. The nicer a restaurant looks, even an empty one, the more likely it is to pick up a potential buyer in a hurry, no different from a residential property. Make sure the floors, walls and countertops are spic and span; the kitchen area should be gleaming and regular maintenance should be done to ensure anytime a prospective buyer drops by, the space has got some interior appeal.

3. Sell everything with it. The easier you make it for a potential buyer to move in, set up shop and open the doors, the more likely it is that your restaurant will go and go fast. Include furnishings, dishes, place settings and other decorative items and either charge a little extra or include it all in the sale price, if you really want your restaurant space to move off of the market.

4. Open your books. According to the Food Service website, potential buyers don't want to purchase a restaurant that can't prove that it turned a profit. If you want your space to sell fast, give buyers a look into your accounting records, to show expenses incurred by the restaurant as well as your profits/losses. This shows how viable your entire operation is.

5. Spread the word in as many ways as possible. The more you can advertise that you have a restaurant space for sale, the more people it will reach and bring out potential buyers. Utilize traditional forms of media -- newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, as well as online classifieds. Make it clear that you are trying to unload the space quickly and will negotiate on serious offers.

References

• Boulevard Real Estate Brokerage: Tips on Selling a Restaurant: Javier Eaton
• Foodservice.com; Time to Sell Your Restaurant?; Kevin Moll; October 2009