This article follows on from:
Buying Your Restaurant – The Biggest Decision You Will Make
and
Buying a Restaurant – Key Market Questions

Once you have a better understanding of the market, you should now focus on the building and ‘the deal’.

1. Base the value of the business on trading profits and not the number of seats in the restaurant. Whatever you think you can add to the revenue should not be included in the price. This is your risk and your premium. More on Six Ways to Check the Value of Your Restaurant Investment

This article follows on from ‘Buying Your Restaurant – The Biggest Decision You Will Make’

If the market is the most important consideration when buying a restaurant, what do you need to know?

The following quick guide is designed to help you channel your thoughts in the right direction:

Who are the current customers? Are they: business people, shoppers, theatre goers, car or train travellers, day trippers, visitors to local attractions, people looking for a gastronomic experience, people celebrating special occasions, local residents who wish to save time cooking, people enjoying a night out visiting your restaurant as part of a established circuit? You will probably find that your intended restaurant is currently serving a number of different markets differentiated by time of day, so you need to find out all that are relevant – and visit at different times of the day. More on Key Restaurant Buying Questions

Deciding which restaurant to buy – or even whether to buy one at all – is the biggest decision you will ever make in your restaurant business.

From this one decision will flow everything else you do in your life – until you sell it. The security of your investment – and your family’s future financial health – depends upon this one, simple decision.

Of all hospitality businesses, restaurants are probably the most fickle. It used to be said that the average restaurant lasts for just two years – and the last few months of that short time are probably horrendous!

Its Different for My Type of Restaurant

The type of restaurant you are buying does not make any difference to your approach. More on How to Buy Your Restaurant