If you’re in the market for buying or selling a restaurant, you may be asking yourself exactly what a restaurant business broker does and why you would need one.  Here’s a sample of my “to-do” list for today and what I’m working on as a restaurant business broker.  Let me know if it sounds like some of this might be useful to you in buying a restaurant.

9:00 am

Call the seller AGAIN on the pizza business for sale and request the payroll figures that a potential buyer wants before he makes an offer.

9:15 am

Email and call the landlord to finalize lease terms and request a copy of the lease for next week’s closing.  Remind landlord of the deadline I’m facing as a restaurant business broker to turn this over to my client since we are now two days behind schedule.

9:30 am

Send out the closing checklist to both the buyer and the seller for next week’s sale.  Remind the seller to get certified funds for the closing and make sure she’s spoken directly to the attorney.

9:40 am

Email and do a follow up call with the closing attorney.  Remind him of the business terms and date of the closing.  Re-send a copy of the signed contract and the escrow check he’s holding so everything is in one file.  Schedule the time of closing for next Friday after coordinating back and forth with the buyer and seller.

10:00 am

Update the seller and the buyer on the closing and discuss how or if the rent will be prorated.  Tell the seller I need to speak to his CPA to get documents for the closing.

10:10 am

Leave a message for the seller’s CPA telling him we need a tax clearance letter or some other means to verify that all taxes have been paid so there won’t be a hold back at closing.

10:15 am

Call my buyer from yesterday’s showing and remind him that as a restaurant business broker, he’s not the only one that has questions.  The seller wants feedback as soon as possible.

10:30 am

Email the lender for another deal and remind her that all the documents are in hand and we need a commitment on the loan.  

10:45 am

Call the seller and remind him that we need an extension signed on his sale or his contract will be out of date.  Send him ANOTHER copy for signature since he can’t find the last email.

11:00 am

Call the seller I visited last week to find out where the signed listing agreement is.  He texted me two days ago that he was sending it back with a signature.

12:00 am

Spend an hour working on marketing materials for new listings we have recently signed.  Verify all the copy is correct along with the business details.  Prepare a listing presentation and make sure that all the documents are in order.  Release for launch on all the national websites and on our own restaurant business broker website. 

12:30 Lunch! 

Read Today’s Restaurant News and other industry magazines over lunch so I’m up to speed as a restaurant business broker on what’s happening in the industry.

1:15 pm

Call back the buyers I am working with on listings.  Set up meetings and send out documents.  Do a conference call with a buyer team.  Prepare listing documents requested by buyers and work on pre-qualification.

2:30 pm

Work with other restaurant business brokers in the office to review their inventory against my buyer requests.  Coordinate materials and information flow to the buyers and set up showings.

3:30 pm

Work with a seller on a listing appointment that was re-scheduled from earlier in the week.  Send out an email reminding him that I need up to date financials, a copy of the lease and list of the furniture, fixtures and equipment in order to prepare the restaurant valuation.

4:00 pm

Follow up with insurance agent and provide an asset list for a business sold by the restaurant business brokers a while back that just had a break in.

4:30 pm

Prepare email blasts on new listings and write a blog article for the website on what a restaurant business broker does all day long.

5:30 pm

Go and visit our client’s restaurant for their soft opening so we can congratulate him in person on opening his new restaurant.

7:00 pm

Walk the dog and catch up on messages left while we were at dinner.

Okay – that’s my day as a restaurant business broker.  If you’re a buyer or seller wondering what we do all day, I hope this clears up some confusion and helps you understand why you might need us. Be sure to also check out the 10 Things a Restaurant Broker Does to Get to Closing. 

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Robin Gagnon, Certified Restaurant Broker®, MBA, CBI, CFE is the co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and industry expert in restaurant sales and valuation. Named by Nation’s Restaurant News as one of the “Most Influential Suppliers and Vendors” to the restaurant industry, her articles and expertise appear nationwide in QSR Magazine, Franchising World, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and BizBuySell. She is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award-winning book on buying restaurants.