How do I sell an independent pizzeria?

A pizzeria is a simple business to picture and a particular one to hand over. Buyers will want to know how it runs without you, and the answers sit in a few places: your sales records, your recipes, your accounts and your people. Start early by gathering the records buyers and their advisors will ask for.

Show where the sales come from

Keep your reports for walk-in, phone, website and delivery-app orders separate, and make sure they match your books. Buyers will check. Be ready to explain how app orders are paid out and what the apps keep. Clear reports let a buyer see the shop as it is, rather than guess.

Write down the dough and sauce

If the recipes live in your head, write them down with quantities and method, and record how prep is done day to day. Decide what you are willing to share before a buyer signs and what you will share after. The recipes and your training of the new owner will likely be part of the agreement.

Plan the handover of accounts and the phone number

List the phone number, website, ordering pages, social accounts and delivery-app stores, and find out how each one transfers. Customers reach the shop through them, so a buyer will ask. Note which equipment is owned and which is leased, because the ovens will matter to every serious buyer.

Keep your team through the sale

Drivers and the kitchen team are part of what a buyer is looking at. Decide when and how to tell them, and ask your lawyer how their employment will carry over. For the wider process, see the guide to selling a restaurant in Canada.