Restaurants are one of the most complex small business acquisitions you can make, and that complexity creates real opportunity for buyers who know what to look for. Based on real acquisition conversations on Rejigg, the buyers who move confidently tend to focus on three things early: the lease, who's running the kitchen, and where revenue actually comes from. Get clear on those and you'll be well ahead of most buyers.
Rejigg lists 55 restaurants businesses for sale. The median asking price is $950K. 1 of them was listed in the last 30 days. The states with the most restaurants listings are California with 11 listings.
Asking prices are set as a multiple of earnings: 2x–6x annual profit, depending on revenue channels, team, and how much runs without you.
Where you land in that range depends on how much the restaurant depends on you personally and whether revenue comes from multiple channels beyond just the dining room.
Revenue from more than just dine-in
A GM and kitchen manager who run things
A clean liquor license
Recipes and procedures written down
What buyers of restaurants businesses look for
Experienced operators looking to add a second or third location
Restaurant groups building a collection of brands in one market
First-time buyers with hospitality management backgrounds ready to run their own place
Catering companies or food truck operators expanding into a brick-and-mortar location
The first questions buyers ask:
Sales Proof. Can you show sales from the POS all the way to the bank?
Prime Cost. What are your prime costs, and what makes them move?
Lease Transfer. Can the lease actually transfer, and what will the landlord require?
Closed deals
Rejigg restaurants deals closed
Across 42 closed deals on Rejigg, the median time from first pitch to close is 177.5 days.
Practical guidance from hundreds of real acquisition conversations.
Lease Terms and Renewal
Ask to see the full lease before you spend serious time on a deal. You want to understand remaining years, renewal options, rent escalation clauses, and whether the landlord has to approve an assignment. A restaurant with five years left and two five-year options at a fixed escalation rate gives you a lot of runway to build on. Shorter leases or uncertain renewal terms are worth getting comfortable with early, since they'll shape how you think about the purchase price.
Revenue Channel Breakdown
Ask for revenue broken out by dine-in, catering, delivery, and any wholesale. A restaurant doing 25% of revenue from catering or delivery has meaningful protection against a slow dining room, which is exciting. If most revenue comes from covers, it's worth thinking through how exposed the business is to foot traffic, weather, and local competition. That's not necessarily a concern. It just means you'll want to factor it into your plan.
Kitchen Leadership and Staff Stability
Find out who runs the back of house and how long they've been there. A kitchen manager who's been running the line for three years and has recipes documented by weight is exactly what a smooth transition looks like. If the owner is the chef and no one else knows the menu, you'll want to think about how the food quality holds up after the transition. That's a solvable problem, but it helps to know about it early so you can plan for it.
Liquor License and Health Department History
Request the liquor license documents and ask about any violations or suspensions in the last three years. Also pull the health department inspection history. A clean license with a straightforward transfer path and inspection scores above 90 can give you real confidence heading into closing. If there are blemishes, they're worth understanding in context, since some issues resolve easily and others take more work.
Valuation
What Should You Expect to Pay?
2-3x
SDE
Owner-operated
3-6x
EBITDA
With management team
Restaurants span a wide range because owner dependency, lease quality, and revenue diversity each influence where a particular business lands.
What drives a premium
Multiple revenue channels: catering, delivery, or wholesale alongside dine-in
General manager and kitchen manager who run the operation without owner involvement
Clean liquor license with no violations and a clear path to transfer
Standardized recipes, prep lists, and opening/closing procedures that are written down
How do I contact the owner of a business I found on Rejigg?
Create a free Rejigg account; owners, and the brokers who run some sales, only hear from buyers through the platform. Open the listing to see the full profile: city, team size, financials, what is for sale, and the reason for selling. Sign Rejigg's standard Fee & Confidentiality Agreement for that business; it is the same form for every deal. Verify your phone, then send your pitch from the listing. Replies, meetings, and documents all run through Rejigg.
Can I email Rejigg to get introduced to an owner?
No. Rejigg does not forward emails to owners or brokers, so a note to support@ or hello@ with a listing link will not reach them. Create a free account, open the listing, sign the agreement for that business, verify your phone, and send your pitch; that reaches them in a few minutes.
Can you show sales from the POS all the way to the bank?
Buyers are verifying that sales show up consistently across the POS, merchant processor, bank deposits, and third-party delivery payouts. They also want to see tight controls around comps, voids, refunds, and cash drops because those are where numbers can drift.
What are your prime costs, and what makes them move?
Buyers use prime cost (labor + COGS) to judge whether the restaurant holds up when sales dip or wages spike. They want margin swings explained with specifics like menu pricing, portion control, overtime, waste, and vendor pricing changes.
Can the lease actually transfer, and what will the landlord require?
Buyers are pricing the risk that the landlord delays, rejects, or adds costly terms during assignment. They also underwrite true occupancy cost, including base rent, CAM, taxes, insurance, and any percentage rent.
Are there any payroll, sales tax, or tip issues that could follow the buyer?
Buyers and lenders look for tip and wage compliance issues that can turn into audits, back pay, or tax liabilities. They also want clean sales tax filings and a paper trail that matches the POS, payroll reports, and tax returns.
What permits and inspections matter here, and are there any recurring issues?
Buyers want to avoid forced closures from health, fire, hood suppression, grease trap, or other compliance misses. They also want to know whether inspections and maintenance stay clean because of systems, not because you personally babysit it.
Who actually runs service: schedules, ordering, line checks, and cashouts?
Buyers are calculating how much of the operation is you and what it costs to replace you. If you control scheduling, ordering, and cash, they assume a tougher transition and budget for a GM, training time, and more mistakes after close.
