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Full-Service Restaurants (sit-down, non-franchise)

The 3 anchors. Don't leave the meeting without them.

1THE PRICE
1.5x–3x (We Sell Restaurants 2025); Peak Business Valuation 2025 range 2.14x–2.96x; BizBuySell 2025 avg earnings multiple 2.15x; single-location independents often 1.5x–2.5x
Typical deal: $220K (BizBuySell 2025 median; median revenue $718K, median owner earnings $120K)
2THE LEVER
Consistent profitability with documented food and labor cost…
Push this up, multiple goes up
3THE LANDMINE
Owner is the head chef or primary face of the business
Surface this in the first 15 min
SDE multiple
1.5x–3x (We Sell Restaurants 2025); Peak Business Valuation 2025 range 2.14x–2.96x; BizBuySell 2025 avg earnings multiple 2.15x; single-location independents often 1.5x–2.5x
EBITDA multiple
2.80x–3.65x (Peak Business Valuation 2025); multi-unit chains with proven unit economics can achieve 5x–7x+; fine dining and experiential concepts typically trade at discount due to chef dependency and labor intensity
Deal size range
$75K – $3M–$5M (established regional concept with multiple units or prime real estate)
OPEN

Open the meeting

Three things to nail in the first 10 minutes.

  1. 1

    Single-location independents trade at 1.5x–2.5x SDE; well-systematized multi-unit concepts reach 2.96x.

  2. 2

    BizBuySell 2025 average earnings multiple is 2.15x on median revenue of $718K — this is a cash-flow-first category.

  3. 3

    EBITDA multiples of 2.80x–3.65x; multi-unit chains with proven unit economics can achieve 5x–7x.

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