Can I buy the reputation, at that price?
Someone pointed out the ad, on a realtor’s page. For the asking price of a half-million, you can be the owner of a small restaurant in a small village. The location, on the only highway passing through, is easy to find (even in a raging snowstorm). The menu is popular. But then another question moves to the front of my mind.
If the restaurant is for sale, that means that the owner/operator does not plan to be there. Retirement, a better opportunity, who knows? Is the asking value in the facility, or the location, or the reputation of a particular chef? Quite apart from the loss of one of my preferred “let’s eat out” spots, what happens if the kitchen is closed for the upcoming season? Will the value after a long period in mothballs still be a half-million? I don’t know.
What it comes down to is one simple thing. Running a successful restaurant is hard work. And if you hope to trade your equity against, say, retirement… will it work? The odds of someone else with your particular combination of skills simply stopping by and turning your dream into theirs is not better than spending the evening in a casino. That’s my take on things.
I’ll watch the address. I’ll try to guess what the intentions are, behind a closed front door. Will my list of places to take company drop by a factor of n-1, or will I have to up my BBQ skills in consequence? I wish I hadn’t seen that ad. So much to ponder.
