The short answer
In the Food and Restaurants category, businesses sold at an average of 2.27x seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), with a median sale price of $200,000, in sales reported to BizBuySell from Q3 2021 through Q2 2026 (source). As an illustration only, a business in this category with $200,000 of SDE would point to about $454,000 at the average multiple. Real sales land well above and below it.
What moves value in this category
Leases, health permits and a liquor license (if you have one) are the first things a buyer's lawyer checks. Prime-cost control and a documented kitchen make a restaurant easier to hand over.
In general, recurring customers, a team that runs without you, clean books, and a lease with years left raise value. Owner dependence, customer concentration and unrecorded cash lower it.
Before you sell
- Work out your SDE with proof for each add-back. See how SDE works.
- Check what must transfer: your lease, licenses, permits and key contracts.
- Decide who needs to know, and when. See how to sell confidentially.
- Bring in a Virginia attorney and a CPA before you sign a letter of intent.
Frequently asked
What is a restaurant or food business worth?
BizBuySell reports an average sale at 2.27x seller's discretionary earnings and a median sale price of $200,000 for this category, from sales reported Q3 2021 through Q2 2026. Your business may sell well above or below that depending on earnings, risk and terms.
Multiples are marketplace averages from owner-reported data and are not a valuation. See all sectors.