What should I check before buying an Italian restaurant?
Before buying an Italian restaurant, check how much the kitchen depends on one chef for pasta and sauces, the condition of the pizza or wood oven, the imported-ingredient suppliers, and what wine and stock is counted at closing.
Italian restaurants can trade on a few things a guest can taste: the pasta, the sauces, the oven and a wine list built over years. Those are also the things that can walk out the door with a chef or a supplier. If you are looking at one, the useful question is how much of what guests love is written down, owned and repeatable by someone other than the current owner.
The chef and the recipes
Ask who makes the fresh pasta and the sauces, and who taught them. If the owner or one cook holds it all in their head, ask whether they will stay on for a handover and for how long. Ask to see recipes and prep sheets. Your lawyer can tell you how to make recipes and handover help part of the agreement, and what is included in the sale.
Ovens, equipment and the kitchen line
A wood-fired or deck oven is part of the identity of the room, and also a costly piece of equipment to repair or move. Ask about its age, its service record and how the venting is arranged. Ask which pasta machines, mixers and refrigeration are owned outright and which are leased. Bring a technician if you are not sure what you are looking at.
Suppliers and the cellar
Many dishes depend on imported cheese, oils, flour or cured meats. Ask who supplies them, how reliable deliveries are and whether pricing is in writing. If the restaurant has a wine list, ask how stock will be counted at closing, how it is treated in the price, and what the licence arrangements require. Your lawyer and the licensing authority can answer the licence side.
Questions to put to the seller
- Which cooks make the pasta and sauces, and will they stay after closing?
- Are recipes and prep sheets written down, and are they part of the sale?
- Which oven, mixers and refrigeration are owned, leased or financed?
- Which suppliers have written terms, and will they continue with a new owner?
- How will wine and food stock be counted on the closing date?
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Restaurants CanadaIndustryRestaurants Canada - The Voice of Foodservice
- 02Saskatchewan Health AuthorityRegulatorRestaurant Inspections | SaskHealthAuthority
- 03Government of New Brunswick — Department of HealthGovernmentFood Premises Inspections
- 04Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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