What should I check before buying a Chinese restaurant?

Chinese restaurants vary widely, from a small takeout counter to a banquet hall, but several features recur. Ask whether the kitchen runs on high heat and fast hands, whether the menu is long and whether the team is one family. Those features are hard to hand over. Test them before you look at anything else, then layer on the standard restaurant checks.

Wok stations, hood and gas

A wok line asks a lot of the building. It needs a large hood, strong make-up air, a gas supply sized for the burners and a grease system that keeps up. Ask for service records and for any inspection notes about the hood. Ask the landlord whether the space allows the current setup. If a burner or hood needs replacing soon, ask who pays for it under the purchase agreement.

A long menu and the cooks behind it

If the menu is long, ask whether it rests on one or two cooks who know the timing and the sauces. Ask who makes what, whether the recipes are written down and whether those cooks will stay. Spend a few shifts watching the line during a rush. A menu you cannot reproduce without the seller is a bigger risk than one the team can run alone.

Family staffing, importers and takeout

If relatives work in the kitchen, ask whether they are on payroll. Ask which roles are family and what replacing them would cost. Check where sauce bases, dried goods and specialty items are sourced and whether terms depend on the owner’s name. Then confirm the takeout and delivery share from point-of-sale reports and app statements, since that mix shapes staffing and packaging costs.