What should I weigh before deciding to buy a restaurant?

The decision to buy a restaurant comes before the purchase steps, and it is as much about your life as about the business. A restaurant asks for early mornings, late nights and weekends, often for the first year or more. Think about the role you want, what you can honestly do yourself, and what you would have to hire. The same questions are asked in is owning a café worth it.

Your hours and your role

Picture an ordinary week, not the opening night. Will you cook, manage the floor, handle ordering and payroll, or do all of them when someone calls in sick? Talk to your family before you commit. Some buyers plan to be an absentee owner, but that usually means paying a capable manager, and that cost belongs in your plan from the start.

Skills and the cash cushion

Kitchen skills, food costing, staff scheduling and guest service all matter. If one is missing, decide who will cover it. Also plan for slow weeks, seasonal dips and repairs. Ask your accountant how much working capital to hold back so that one quiet month does not force a rushed decision, and see what records a seller should show.

How much depends on the current owner

Some restaurants run on one person’s cooking, relationships or long hours. Ask whether guests come for the chef or the place, and test it with how to tell if the chef is the real reason people come. Ask how long the seller will stay on; see how long a restaurant seller should train you after the sale.

Questions to take to the seller and your accountant

• Why is the owner leaving, and who does what today?
• Which staff are likely to stay after a sale?
• How long is the lease, and what does the landlord expect of a new tenant?
• What do the records show in the slowest months?