small business sell-side advisory

Last year I helped a 36-year-old coffee business sell — retail, wholesale, e-commerce, plus a waterfront property.

The owner had poured three decades into it. Every decision. Every hire. Every 4am roast. When he decided to retire, here's what surprised him most: He had no idea what his business was actually worth. Not because he was unsophisticated — he'd built a profitable, multi-channel operation. But the restaurant industry doesn't come with a Bloomberg terminal. Owners estimate value based on what they've heard from neighbors and brokers who handle a restaurant deal here and there.

We spent months getting the positioning right. Business valuation. Asset analysis. Market research on who the right buyer was — and what terms would actually get the deal done. The result: a hybrid sale of business and property at above-market valuation. Clean transition. Owner walked away feeling good about the legacy.

What sticks with me is how close he came to leaving serious money on the table — not because he wasn't smart, but because nobody in his world had ever helped him think about it. That's the gap I keep seeing.

How many restaurant owners are sitting on more value than they realize?