The restaurant resale market showed sustained strength in August 2025, with Charlotte, Florida, and Texas continuing to set the pace in buyer engagement. This is a continuation of strong trends noted for the South in in second quarter activity reported by BizBuySell in this article covering national restaurant trends. We Sell Restaurants, the nation’s largest restaurant brokerage firm, analyzed over 1,250 active listings, $515+ million in inventory, and a month’s worth of buyer behavior data to identify where activity is heating up and what types of restaurants are converting from search to sale.
By analyzing this data from We Sell Restaurants, the nation’s largest restaurant for sale brokerage firm, we uncover key trends in buyer behavior, geographic hotspots, and the types of restaurants driving market momentum. This month’s article provides a comprehensive overview of the restaurant for sale activity, by focusing on the top 25 listings for signed confidentiality agreements, initial buyer inquiries, and Google searches, as well as an analysis of sold listings.
Hitting all the Marks
More than a dozen restaurants stood out at fan favorites, appearing across all three searches for the month. This meant clients expressed, initial interest from their inquiries, moved forward in their search to acknowledge confidentiality and also found the restaurant for sale online through their search engine activity.
Where were these listings? Charlotte dominates with more than half of the top dozen followed by Texas, Orlando FL, Raleigh and Georgia. There was diversification by price point.
These attract first-time buyers and E2 visa candidates because of affordability and manageable operations.
Mid-Range Listings ($200K–$400K):
These listings balance affordable investment with proven revenue streams, often with stronger financials than entry-level assets.
High-Dollar Outliers:
Only one large portfolio breaks the $500K price mark, a Winder, GA Franchise multi-unit. The absence of $1M+ multi-unit deals in the overlap suggests those larger assets pull high search visibility but don’t convert evenly across all categories.inder (GA).
Overall, however, Franchises led overall in August, with a Moe’s multi-pack, a franchise sandwich shop in Spring Texas, drive-thru quick service concepts in Charlotte all leading the way. This confirms that buyers value brand recognition and training support, especially when paired with affordability.
In terms of quick casual and fast-food concepts, pizza, sandwich and café listings dominate. Little to no full service, high-labor restaurants appear in the triple overlap, signaling buyer preferences for simpler operations with lower overhead.
Conversion-ready concepts were on the list as well. Several Charlotte listings priced under $100,000 made the cut reflecting demand from operators who want turnkey space without inheriting debt or complex financials, likely to convert to their own concept.
Listings across all three categories signal broad appeal.
“Sweet Spot” Price Point:
That’s a focus on the listings that made the top in all three lists. Continuing to analyze the data across the top 25 listings in each category, this is what we learned.
Key Market Highlights
August data showed broad-based confidence from buyers, with activity spread across the Sunbelt and strong pockets of engagement in emerging markets like Tennessee and Georgia.
Buyer Demand Concentration
As already indicated, half of the top 25 made the list in all three categories, signaling strong buyer intent and competitive market conditions. They include examples like the Spring, TX – Franchise Sandwich Shop with $735K Sales. This led all listings nationwide with 71 signed confidentiality agreements, confirming that mid-range franchise resales remain among the most desirable opportunities.
In Charlotte, NC – Multiple Midtown & Plaza Midwood Listings made the cut. Four separate listings in Charlotte made the top five confidentiality agreement counts, with price points ranging from $20,000 asset sales to $190,000 turn-key restaurants.
However, the most searched listing in the month was a $6.4M Multi-Unit Portfolio in OK/TX. This proves that well-performing, multi-unit packages continue to attract serious multi-store operators and interest from those with funds sitting on the sidelines in anticipation of investment. A report on September 15, found there is currently $7.4 Trillion dollars sitting in money market funds in the U.S. This signals some large investors are still waiting to make decisions about large scale investments.
Signed Confidentiality Agreements by State
Signed CAs, which represent the most committed step in the buyer journey, revealed Charlotte’s continued dominance, followed by key Florida and Texas markets.
Google Search Trends: Visibility Wins
Google search activity remains a leading indicator of listing performance. We Sell Restaurants’ SEO-optimized listings consistently generate thousands of impressions per month, and September’s data showed:
Sold Listings: September Market Momentum
September’s closed transactions confirmed that well-priced, visible listings are turning into deals quickly. Overall, We Sell Restaurants reported that transactions in second quarter were up 15% for the restaurant brokerage firm outpacing general business brokerage trends reported by BizBuySell as down in second quarter by a staggering 16 percent. While that trending reflected efforts of the general brokerage industry, the firm reported these among the transactions closing in August, 2025.
Top 5 Sold Listings by Price
Top 5 Fastest Sold Listings
The number of days on market demonstrated by the latest BizBuySell data was up nearly a month over the prior year but those are only averages. In the August 2025 time period, these listings demonstrated that fast sales are not only possible, but occurring within the We Sell Restaurants inventory.
Insights for Buyers and Sellers
For Buyers:
For Sellers:
As we move into the final quarter of 2025, the data confirms that buyers are motivated, capital is available, and sellers who prepare their financials and pricing correctly are achieving strong results. From Charlotte’s continued dominance to Florida and Texas’ sustained momentum, the restaurant resale market shows no signs of slowing. At We Sell Restaurants, we remain committed to delivering the visibility, expertise, and national reach that helps our clients succeed in this competitive environment.