10 Consejos para comprar un restaurante a un

buen precio
Hay muchos aspectos a tener en cuenta antes de comprar un restaurante,
ya que la mayora de los negocios fracasan en los primeros dos aos.
Cuando veas una oferta de restaurante en venta o restaurante en
traspaso, debes pensar en varias cuestiones importantes. A continuacin
te damos 10 consejos para la compra de un restaurante a un excelente
precio.

Consejo 1: Balances de Prdidas y Ganancias

Antes de comprar un restaurante, es importante consultar los balances de
prdidas y beneficios de los 3 aos anteriores. Esto te ayudar a
determinar si es rentable la compra del restaurante o si hay que realizar
cambios en el negocio para poder lograr beneficios.

Consejo 2: Equipamiento y maquinaria

Muchas personas sin experiencia en negocios a menudo suelen
presuponer que la compra de un restaurante implica automticamente que
lleva incluido todo lo que est en el local. Para obtener el mejor precio
para tu inversin, debes asegurarte de que el equipamiento y la
maquinaria estn funcionando actualmente en el restaurante y se
encuentran incluidos en el precio de compra. Debes evitar el riesgo de
comprar equipamiento defectuoso o un restaurante que no incluye todo el
equipo necesario para su funcionamiento habitual.

Consejo 3: Impuestos
Cules son las cantidades de impuestos que pesan sobre el restaurante?
Tiene impuestos pendientes de pagar? Muchas veces los restaurantes
en venta o traspaso deben impuestos atrasados. Si hay impuestos
adeudados, tal vez sea mejor buscar otro restaurante.

Consejo 4: El men
Un establecimiento rentable tendr un excelente men. Slo por el hecho
de comprar un restaurante no significa que el men vaya incluido en la
venta. Pregntale al propietario si se va a incluir el men, las recetas y los
productos ofrecidos antes de la compra del restaurante.

Consejo 5: Empleados
Los empleados actuales seguirn trabajando en el restaurante despus
de la compra? Puedes obtener un gran precio si los empleados siguen en
el negocio, ya que no tendrs el gasto de contratar y capacitar a nuevos

trabajadores que lleven el local.

Consejo 6: Publicidad
Otra cuestin importante es determinar si hay publicidad contratada para
el restaurante. Hay anuncios que ya han sido pagados por el propietario
actual? Puedes ahorrar una fortuna en la publicidad que tenga y ya se
est ejecutando actualmente.

Consejo 7: Ubicacin
La ubicacin del restaurante es muy importante, porque sera muy caro
tener que reubicar la instalacin en el caso de que la zona no fuera de tu
agrado. La zona se ha deteriorado? Existen empresas,
establecimientos o lugares de inters que atraen a los clientes? Existen
competidores en el barrio con un men similar o similares caractersticas
de local? La ubicacin es un factor crucial que puede beneficiar o
perjudicar gravemente a un restaurante, y sta puede ser la razn
principal de que el restaurante est en venta o traspaso.

Consejo 8: Parking
Hay un amplio parking para tus comensales? La sealizacin de los
alrededores es clara? Hay un fcil acceso al restaurante? Todas estas
cuestiones afectan indudablemente a la cantidad de trfico y peatones que
lleguen a tu negocio.

Consejo 9: Normativa sanitaria

Debes asegurarte de que el restaurante en venta cumple toda la
normativa que el Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo establece para este
tipo de negocio. Puede ocurrir que encuentres un negocio a un precio
excelente pero que despus averiges que debes gastar una fortuna para
cumplir las normas legales.

Consejo 10: Tipos de Inters

Cules son los tipos de inters a asumir para el crdito o prstamo de la
instalacin? Ten en cuenta que no resultar un buen precio si los
intereses son altos.

Top 10 Tips for Buying an

Existing Restaurant
While there are many advantages to buying an existing
restaurant, there are many pitfalls as well. Follow these tips to be
sure that you are making a good business move, before it is too
late to go back on the deal:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Figure out why the restaurant is for sale. Even if the owner
was in personal debt, and had to sell the restaurant even though
it was making a profit, you should check to be sure that there
are no new reasons that the restaurant will fail, such as a
change in the neighborhood population, a lawsuit pending
against the restaurant, a new competitive business being built
nearby, an increase in business taxes, any changes in nearby
roadwork, etc.
Know what you are buying. You will need to gather all of the
restaurants financial records, marketing materials, inspection
reports and menus from the previous owner. Also examine the
demographic data of the customer base, as well as the pricing,
square footage, parking availability, potential for expansion,
utilities set-up, licenses, contracts and equipment for the
existing restaurant.
Make the lease part of the deal. Before you purchase the
restaurant, make sure that the owner of the space will lease it to
you. If they will not, the restaurant will be meaningless for you.
If they raise the leasing rates, you can bring this up with the
previous owner and discuss lowering the sale price for the
restaurant.
Limit the amount of money you pay up front. If you limit
the money you pay up front and use the existing restaurant as
collateral, you could save yourself from going bankrupt in case
the business does not draw enough profits.
Get the building and equipment inspected. For all you know,
the owner is selling the restaurant because the $10,000 vent
hood system broke down. Before you buy, always make sure the
equipment is in working condition and has been well-maintained.
Otherwise, you should include those costs as you project your
initial expenses, or negotiate the cost of repairs into the
purchase price.

6.

Make sure it has a good reputation. Buying a restaurant with

a bad reputation can only hurt you. Customers will not
necessarily be aware that it is under new ownership. Look for a
restaurant with a solid customer base. Many restaurants with
good reputations and customer satisfaction will go up for sale
because they are mismanaged financially or because the owner
simply cannot continue to run the restaurant.
7.
Choose a restaurant with a good location. If you buy an
existing restaurant with a great location, you will have a better
chance of succeeding. If you lease the space, in case the existing
business does not do well, you could revamp the restaurant
concept to better suit the profitable location. Or if you buy the
space, and the local real estate market is booming, you may
even be able to sell it for a profit.
8.
Examine the previous owners mistakes. Before you buy a
pre-existing restaurant, you should examine all of the previous
owners bank statements, tax reports, bills and check registers.
Analyzing the bookkeeping will give you a good idea of the sales
and expenses you can expect, and how you might improve
profits. You can also interview previous customers and
employees to help identify any operational mistakes.
9.
Determine your goals ahead of time. For example, know
exactly how much cash flow you want to generate and the profit
you hope to earn on that cash flow. You should also determine
the amount of return on investment you expect in a given
amount of time. This will help you decide if the restaurants
revenue can live up to your expectations.
Look for a non-compete clause. If there are not already noncompete clauses negotiated into the lease (for example, at a mall
location,) the existing owner should be asked to sign a non-compete
clause. This will prevent that person from opening another similar
restaurant in the area for a given period of time.

Buying an Existing
Restaurant vs. Starting
from Scratch
Once you know that the restaurant business is right for you, the
first decision you will make is whether to buy an existing
restaurant or start your business from scratch. Each has its
advantages and disadvantages. When making such an important
decision, you will need to consider your capital, the risks involved
and your short and long-term business goals.

Risky Business
The restaurant industry is a risky business. Whether you start
your own restaurant or buy one off someone else, you will
probably face many obstacles before you reach profitability.
Risks of Starting from Scratch While starting a restaurant
from scratch, there are many unknown variables involved. The
staff, the customer base, the food and the marketing plan will all
be completely new. As you begin to plan and develop your new
restaurant concept, you will inevitably run into at least a few
problems, which could include the following:
10.
11.
12.

Difficulty obtaining your licenses

Trouble attracting a customer base Learn More
Running out of capital due to unexpected expenses or low
sales
13. Problems with staffing and training
There are many measures you can take to increase your chances
of success, but there is no easy formula for starting a successful
restaurant. There will always be some risk involved.

Risks of Buying an Existing Restaurant

Before you can open the doors of your new restaurant, you must
obtain a permit from your local health department. The permit
verifies that your establishment is in compliance with local, state
and federal health regulations. In order to obtain a operators
permit from your county health department, you must:

A bad reputation or existing customer dissatisfaction

Liability for the previous owners bills, taxes, etc.
Poorly maintained or broken equipment
Dysfunctional management or problems with business structure
Existing health code violations Learn More
Any disadvantages natural to the location, such as limited
parking Learn More
While these risks may seem small compared to the risks of
starting a new restaurant, the truth is, the last owner probably
left the restaurant for a good reason. You need to make sure that
you will fix any problems that caused the previous owner to fail.

Advantages to Starting from Scratch

Most restaurateurs want to start their own restaurant because
they want to share their own concept and their own special
dishes. There are several advantages to starting a restaurant
from scratch, including the following:
Choice of concept. When you start your own restaurant from
the ground up, you have complete control over what your
restaurant will become and what it will offer to customers.
You will also be able to choose the customer base you wish
to attract with your concept. Learn More
Flexibility in restaurant design. You can build every aspect
of the kitchen, dining room and restaurant exterior to your
own specifications. Furthermore, you can design the interior
and exterior of your building to match your new brand.
Learn More
New, fresh reputation. Since you are starting from scratch,
you will not have to deal with the lingering reputation of the
previous restaurant.
Control over menu. You do not have to work with existing
kitchen and staff limitations when developing your menu.
Instead, you can conceptualize the menu, and design the
restaurant to accommodate it.

Advantages to Buying an Existing Restaurant

While taking over a pre-existing restaurant has its risks, there
are several advantages that can save you time and money in the
long run. These include the following:
Immediate cash flow. Very soon after you purchase the
restaurant, you will be ready to serve customers, so your
incoming cash flow is immediately there.
Established customer base. If you make a good purchase,
the restaurant will already have a number of regular
customers who will keep coming back, despite the change
in ownership.
Existing brand awareness. If the restaurant you bought has
a good reputation, you will benefit from the fact that it has
been around for a while, and people already know about it.
Of course, if the restaurants reputation is bad, brand
awareness will only hurt you.
Less personal time required. Because the restaurant is
already up and running, you will not need to pour your time
into designing the restaurant, developing the menu,
training servers, etc. Instead, you can focus your time on
improving the restaurants existing operations.

Tips for Buying an Existing Restaurant

Purchasing an existing restaurant from the previous owner or
owners can be very profitable. However, if you are not careful,
you may end up getting more (or less) than you bargained for.
To reduce the risks and improve your chances of profitability,
follow our top ten tips. Learn More

Alternatives
If starting a new restaurant from scratch seems like too much to
handle, but buying an existing restaurant is unappealing to you,
there are several alternative options you could consider to reduce
the amount of risk involved. Try one of the following:
Revamp an existing restaurant. This is a great way to save

money. You can take an existing restaurant and keep the

existing architecture, commercial kitchen equipment,
kitchen supplies, furniture and even the staff, and redesign
the menu, interior and exterior of the restaurant to suit a
new concept. To assure that you have everything you need
to produce your menu, you may need to buy a few more
supplies and pieces of equipment.
Buy into a franchise. Studies show that there is slightly less
risk involved in buying into a franchise than in starting an
independent restaurant. If you do not want to take over an
independent or chain restaurant already in existence, you can
buy into a franchise that suits your style, and take advantage of
their established marketing strategies and brand awareness.