Recently the agents at Crowne Atlantic sold another large restaurant and bar located in Downtown Orlando. The restaurant was approximately 4,000 square feet inside and had a large patio area to work with that is over 10,000 square feet. At the time of purchase the restaurant was a closed entity, however it was fully equipped with everything including kitchen equipment, inventory, chairs, plates and pretty much everything to open up again. The Buyer got a great deal and is reportedly doing very well in the location. The deal was handled by Lee Ossin, business broker at Crowne Atlantic.
One of the things things that was stressed throughout the process was the concept that would be put in place. The buyer spent a lot of time going through menu items and concepts to determine what would be the best fit for this location. Once the concept was worked out, the buyer went through and carefully figured out what type of operation the restaurant would have including, how dinner service would work, how the bar would be staffed, and how special events would be scheduled. Because the buyer wanted to make sure they got everything right, they took an additional month after purchasing the restaurant to make improvements to anything that might need additional fixing.
Essentially this is an example of proper planning when starting up a restaurant. At Crowne Atlantic we sell a ton of successful restaurants and bars, but we also work with a lot of Sellers looking to sell restaurants and bars that for whatever reason they are not doing well with. When we sell these facilities to a Buyer we look for Buyers that have a sense of what kind of concept and operation they plan on having. There are a lot of myths out there that restaurants and bars are tough businesses. However this industry is no tougher than many other industries, but they do operate differently than most other businesses. Some Buyers are cut out for the work and others are not. Restaurants have a lot of moving parts that newcomers may not be ready for including: inventory that can go bad, planning out attractive concepts, working hours when everyone else is off from work, and dealing with large amounts of employees. At the same time Crowne Atlantic. has tons of clients that not only handle all these aspects, but are successful business leaders in the community, ones that others go to for advice.
At Crowne Atlantic we work with Buyers to make sure that they have everything lined up. It is important for our Sellers that the next Buyer is successful, especially since these Sellers are typically assigning the lease to a new owner and are still potentially on the hook for the rent if a new owner defaults. We make sure that Buyers have a concept in mind and an idea of what type of operation they plan to do. The location helps take care of the rest.
If you are looking to Buy or Sell a restaurant or bar in the Orlando or Central Florida area, call Crowne Atlantic at 407-478-4101 or check out their website at www.crowneatlantic.com.
