A restaurant in California typically sells for 1.3 to 2.2 times the owner's true annual earnings, or 0.25 to 0.45 times yearly revenue. California adds a rule of its own for buyers, covered below: "Selling a bar or restaurant? The ABC transfer runs through escrow"
Listings here are blind and screened, so they go up a few at a time. See every business for sale, or read on for what a fair price and a fair monthly payment look like when one does.
A California liquor license transfer is its own regulated transaction. The buyer applies to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, a notice gets posted at the premises for roughly thirty days, and state rules require the purchase money for the licensed business to pass through an escrow. Altogether the transfer commonly takes a couple of months or more.
None of this is a problem if you plan for it, and all of it is a problem if you discover it two weeks before closing. Open the ABC application and the escrow at the same time you sign the purchase agreement.
Restaurants are priced from what they earn. Buyers multiply the owner's true yearly earnings: salary, plus profit, plus the personal costs the business pays. When those are known, that math gives the more reliable price. Revenue multiples are the cross-check.
| Measured against | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Owner's true yearly earnings (SDE) | 1.3x | 2.2x |
| Yearly revenue | 0.25x | 0.45x |
Most small business sales use seller financing or an SBA loan. Here is the math on an example restaurant earning $75,000 a year in owner earnings. At 1.8 times, the price is $135,000. With seller financing, you pay part up front and the owner is paid the rest monthly, out of what the business earns.
| Down payment | Financed by the owner | Monthly payment | Left each month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $14,000 (10%) | $121,000 | $2,450 | $3,800 |
| $20,000 (15%) | $115,000 | $2,330 | $3,920 |
| $27,000 (20%) | $108,000 | $2,190 | $4,060 |
Worked example at 8% interest over 5 years, a common shape for a seller-financed note. The owner and buyer set the real rate and term. "Left each month" is $6,250 of owner earnings minus the payment, before your own living costs.
The full California selling guide
Own a restaurant in California? Put it in front of buyers who have already told us their timeline and what they can put down. Your listing stays blind, so nobody learns it is for sale until they sign a confidentiality agreement.
Not sure what to ask for it? See your number free first, or get it documented from your tax returns.
YourBizWorth is not a broker, appraiser, or law firm. We never take a cut of your sale.
So the staff, the clients, and the landlord don't hear the business is for sale before a deal is real. Every listing here is blind: the area, rounded numbers, and what is included. You get the name, the full financials, and a call with the owner after you sign a short confidentiality agreement.
Often, yes. Most small business sales use seller financing or an SBA loan. With seller financing you pay part of the price up front and the rest in monthly payments to the owner, out of what the business earns. Each listing shows the down payment its owner will take.
The price range and rounded figures come from the owner. Before you sign anything binding, ask for three years of business tax returns. SBA lenders require three years of business tax returns to finance a buyer, so that is the standard, and an owner who is ready to sell will have them.
No. YourBizWorth is not a broker, appraiser, or law firm. Owners pay a flat monthly fee to list here, and nobody takes a commission on the sale. The owner and the buyer make the deal, and each side should use a licensed attorney for the closing papers.
Multiples are ranges from reported closed sales, not appraisals. A specific business's price comes from its own tax returns. YourBizWorth is not a broker, appraiser, or law firm.