The Truth About Selling a Restaurant in 2025: What We Sell Restaurants Learned From Hundreds of Deals (Part 3)
This is third in a three-part series on the restaurant resale marketplace in 2025 that both buyers and sellers should understand for 2026.
If you've been following along with this series (catch part one here), you already know that successfully selling a restaurant requires far more than posting a listing and crossing your fingers. After two decades and thousands of transactions, We Sell Restaurants has developed a deep understanding of what actually moves the needle. The second in the series (found here) covered some fundamental truth about documentation. This wraps up the series, showing that 2025 proved to be a particularly interesting chapter in restaurant resales. It reinforced long standing principles while teaching us entirely new lessons, complete with a handful of genuine surprises.
The first two articles focused on what’s needed to sell a restaurant, how timing impacted sales and even documentation. This final segment departs in significant ways. This focuses on the biggest surprises of the year. These are the outcomes that left restaurant buyers, sellers and even Certified Restaurant Brokers scratching their head.
With hundreds of transactions, completed, these are the trends and outcomes that genuinely surprised us. Some defied conventional wisdom. Others were unexpected shifts in buyer behavior or market dynamics. Read on to learn if these are unexpected outcomes for you as well.
Biggest Surprises of 2025
Surprise #1: Ghost kitchens and virtual brands mostly failed to sell
Coming into 2025, we expected ghost kitchens and delivery-only concepts to be hot commodities. Hyped out of the pandemic and seen as a logical extension of a brand, they seem to offer low overhead, no front-of-house labor, and delivery-focused model; it seemed like the future.
Reality? Most didn't sell. The ones that did, sold at steep discounts.
Why? Buyers are realizing that these concepts have zero brand loyalty, no physical presence, and are entirely dependent on third-party delivery platforms that take very high (can you say 30%?) commissions. One algorithm change or delivery app dispute could tank the business overnight.
The few ghost kitchens that did sell successfully had strong financials and were attached to physical restaurant locations, essentially using extra kitchen capacity. Standalone ghost kitchens? Buyers stayed away.
The takeaway? If you need additional kitchen space and to extend your delivery presence, a ghost kitchen is a way to grow. On its own, it’s on the way out.
Surprise #2: Fast Casual dominated buyer interest
We knew fast casual had a breakout year starting with the pandemic 2020 but the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Literally half of all units sold were fast casual opportunities. Within that, sub shops or sandwich shops and pizza restaurants ruled. They have always been steady performers, but 2025 took it to another level. Anything fast casual was poised to sell. Full service struggled.
Why buyers loved them:
We had fast casual restaurants with multiple offers within days of listing. Many had multiple competing offers. These concepts consistently sold at the higher end of valuation multiples which was also influenced by the dominance of franchise concepts which trade at higher multiples.
Surprise #3: Experienced operators paid MORE, not less
Conventional wisdom says experienced restaurant owners are tougher negotiators and pay less. In 2025, we saw the opposite.
Multi-unit operators and experienced restaurateurs paid premium prices, very close to asking, because they:
First-time buyers, despite their enthusiasm, often nitpicked deals to death. They'd find every tiny flaw, renegotiate over small repairs, and sometimes walk over issues that seasoned operators shrugged off.
Real example: A casual Mexican restaurant listed at $465,000. A first-time buyer offered $425,000 and wanted the seller to replace the walk-in cooler ($8,000), repair parking lot cracks ($3,500), and provide 6 months of free consulting post-sale.
An experienced operator who owned two other restaurants came in at $470,000, as-is, 30-day close. He saw the value, knew the cooler had 2-3 years left, and didn't sweat the small stuff. Guess who got the restaurant?
Surprise #4: Restaurants in secondary markets outperformed major metros
We expected major metropolitan areas to dominate sales activity and valuations. Instead, restaurants in secondary and tertiary markets (smaller cities, suburbs, even rural areas with stable populations) performed exceptionally well.
Why? Lower rent, less competition, tighter-knit communities with loyal customer bases, and buyers fleeing high-cost urban markets looking for better quality of life. Additionally, even though workforces are being pushed back to offices, downtowns are still struggling with an exodus that began years ago.
An independent diner in a town of 35,000 people sold for a higher than expected multiple because it was an institution with 40 years of history and unshakeable customer loyalty. Meanwhile, trendy concepts in expensive urban neighborhoods struggled because rent was 15% of gross sales and the buyer’s return on investment simply wasn’t there.
Surprise #5: Younger buyers (under 35) were more conservative than expected
We anticipated younger, first-time buyers to be risk-takers: excited about trendy concepts, willing to reinvent and rebrand.
Instead, they were the most conservative buyers we saw. They wanted established concepts with proven track records. They avoided anything experimental or niche. They gravitated toward pizza, breakfast, fast-casual: safe, predictable categories.
Why? Student loan debt, limited capital, and acute awareness of failure rates. They couldn't afford to take big risks. Ironically, the "boring" established neighborhood restaurant was exactly what younger buyers wanted.
The lesson: The market doesn't always behave the way you expect. Trends shift. Buyer preferences evolve. What worked in 2024 didn't necessarily work in 2025. The sellers who succeeded were the ones who stayed flexible, listened to market feedback, and adapted their approach based on reality, not assumptions.
Conclusion: What This Means for 2026
If 2025 taught us anything, it's that the restaurant resale market rewards preparation, honesty, and realistic expectations. The sellers who succeeded weren't necessarily the ones with the best locations or the trendiest concepts. They were the ones who understood what buyers actually wanted and delivered it.
This article delivers on the surprises but combined with the first two, here are the key takeaways if you’re considering selling in 2026.
Price it right from day one. The market is too informed and too competitive for "testing the waters" with inflated prices. Get a professional valuation, price it fairly, and sell quickly at full value rather than chasing the market down over 12 months.
Get your documentation organized now. If you're thinking about selling this year, spend this month getting your financial records, lease documents, and operational materials in order. Buyers in 2026 will be just as thorough (probably more so) than they were in 2025.
Be honest about your current numbers. If 2025 was slower than 2024, say so upfront. Transparency builds trust. Hiding problems wastes everyone's time and kills your credibility when the truth comes out during due diligence.
Timing matters. Early in the year is the best time to sell a restaurant. There are more buyers in the marketplace and offers come quickly. If you're ready, list immediately and capitalize on motivated buyers with New Year energy and financing in place. If you need more time to prepare, any month is good for those targeted and serving buyers for the industry.
Think beyond the asking price. Consider seller financing or flexible terms to expand your buyer pool. If you own the real estate, consider retaining it as an investment and renting to the new operator rather than selling at higher interest rates. Invest in curb appeal and minor cosmetic updates. Commit to thorough training and transition support. These factors can mean the difference between a fast sale at full price and a listing that languishes.
Understand the financing landscape. More buyers than ever qualify for unsecured lending based on personal credit. This opens up deals that traditional financing won't touch. But credit-based financing is fragile: one impulsive purchase can kill a deal at the finish line.
What we expect to see in 2026:
Based on what we saw in late 2025 and early conversations with buyers and sellers this year, we anticipate:
The restaurants that will thrive in the 2026 market are the ones that look like safe, smart investments, not gambles. Clean financials. Solid leases. Consistent performance. Professional presentation.
Ready to sell?
If you're thinking about selling your restaurant in 2026, now is the time to start preparing. Get your numbers together. Clean up the restaurant. Talk to your landlord about lease transfer requirements. Organize your documentation.
And if you're ready to list your restaurant right now? You're in the first quarter buying surge with motivated buyers actively looking. Don't wait.
The market rewards sellers who are prepared, honest, and realistic. Be one of them.