Buying a Restaurant? Avoid These Mistakes
The pandemic has been lethal on restaurants since March, with thousands of restaurants closing around the country. With all of the uncertainty, you might see a bit of good news and daylight. Your favorite restaurant in your favorite location might be on sale. However, before you jump into that amazing deal, there are a few things you need to think about first.
Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Restaurant
The first thing you need to do when you are considering buying a restaurant is to check the lease. Many restaurants you might be looking at lease their buildings instead of buying them. You need to really read the lease so that you know the terms and qualifications upfront. If possible, meet with the landlord or the property management company to discuss the lease before you buy it.
Second, have the equipment in the kitchen inspected by a professional. If the restaurant has been running on outdated equipment, you don’t want to find that out after you’ve bought the business. If you get it inspected, you will know upfront what the kitchen can handle.
You need to check the reputation of the business as well. Are there lots of health code violations? What does their rating on Yelp and Google look like? You don’t want to buy a business with a horrible reputation that you then try and solve with the “Under New Management” banner, because that rarely works.
In short, if you do your homework ahead of time, you’ll be able to buy a restaurant that you can turn into something special.
When you’re ready to buy or sell a business, we hope you’ll give Hallmark Business Brokers a call at 941-445-4726, or come by and see us at 230 S Tamiami Trail, Suite 2, in Venice.
