restaurant valuation

[JohnnyChance]

I would view it as a very very expensive hobby rather than an investment. Unless you want to spend all of your time there managing things, you should pay qualified people to do that. That might not leave anything left $ wise for yourself, but it also might mean the difference between the place staying open and paying the bills and closing. Then you will make your money back in the long term.

[orange]

I spent a few hours with the owner tonight and learned a lot to digest.
I am going to find out more tomorrow.

[orange]

Ok...I had a very helpful meeting with the business owner.
In summary, asking is 1/3 of sale* - about 2x of current business EBIT, adjustable lease term, taking over all the equipments/brand(restaurant name) as well.
It is a decent size well structured restaurant and it appears to be at least a fair to a nice deal.
I will need to do a lot of home works for many different aspects regarding a competitive analysis.
No matter what the outcome is, this is a very interesting exercise for me.

Thanks again for your advise.

K

[lechef]

Interesting thread. Personally my dream is also to own a restaurant, but being a young chef I would still need many years more of experience before I want to pursue a head chef job and my own place.
I think you should really listen to the advise given. And if you never worked in a restaurant you should try it out first I think, so you get an understanding of how it works, and it will be easier to communicate and understand the staff/guest etc. The restaurant business is fantastic, but its not for everyone.
But I guess that depends on whether you want to work there full time, or just be the guy that puts in the money and pays the costs(and if its the last one, as other said, its hard for you to get $ from it, but I guess its possible in the long term, and if you have a good job you can still have a income).

Good luck, everything is possible as long as you work for it!

[orange]

Ok...they say location is one of the most important thing for a restaurant; Having said that, I have a little issue about the location of the restaurant of interest.
It is located in a somewhat busy complex where other restaurants/shopping centers(on the other side from the restaurant)/and gas stations are located . However, the entrance to it is not easily accessible from the road that passes through the complex in that, from one direction of the road, you can't make direct (left) turn to the side of the complex where it is located; You have to take an u-turn first to enter the side.
And the restaurant is not visible from the intersection either. I know I know it is difficult for you to picture the location.
Two previous restaurants from the same location bellied up.
The current restaurant on sale is the third and the brand of it is somewhat known to the town though.
So, my question to you is that based on your experiences in the business how important should I treat the location considering the brand power of it??

[JohnnyChance]

What is the not just immediate location like? Block, neighborhood, etc? Foot traffic? Nearby housing? Busy fast moving roads at that intersection?

If a successful restaurateur is not making the location work, why will you? Why are they selling? Too many of the same type of place in that area? Mismanagement? Poor sales?

[chinacats]

Ok...they say location is one of the most important thing for a restaurant; Having said that, I have a little issue about the location of the restaurant of interest.
It is located in a somewhat busy complex where other restaurants/shopping centers(on the other side from the restaurant)/and gas stations are located . However, the entrance to it is not easily accessible from the road that passes through the complex in that, from one direction of the road, you can't make direct (left) turn to the side of the complex where it is located; You have to take an u-turn first to enter the side.
And the restaurant is not visible from the intersection either. I know I know it is difficult for you to picture the location.
Two previous restaurants from the same location bellied up.
The current restaurant on sale is the third and the brand of it is somewhat known to the town though.
So, my question to you is that based on your experiences in the business how important should I treat the location considering the brand power of it??

Restaurants and Real Estate=Location, Location, Location

Cheers

[WildBoar]

Can signage be added? Including signs directing drivers where to turn to reach the restaurant?

[Salty dog]

If you'd like to PM me with some numbers I might be able to give you an opinion.

(I'm not just a pretty face)

[orange]

Can signage be added? Including signs directing drivers where to turn to reach the restaurant?

I think so...but it should be done with an agreement with gas station owners.

What is the not just immediate location like? Block, neighborhood, etc? Foot traffic? Nearby housing? Busy fast moving roads at that intersection?

If a successful restaurateur is not making the location work, why will you? Why are they selling? Too many of the same type of place in that area? Mismanagement? Poor sales?

The intersection with a traffic signal is a little weird in that from one direction a car can't make a left turn so that a driver needs to u-turn first to get on the opposite side of the traffic and make right at the intersection. That is how the road is designed.

The current owner is selling it to leave the town after divorce, which I can appreciate the owner's intention.
The place had been managed without the presence of owner (did I mention that they have multiple restaurants with the same brand in the same state??) until this year. Apparently, sales had been gradually down but it appears that it has stabilized at this point (from year over year monthly sales comparison)
In the same town, for the past few years, smaller Japanese restaurants have popped up here and there, but for the same market segment (far east asian food), the place of interest is the biggest in the town.