Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services and Utah DHHS and local health departments have to accept you. That is the UT buy-side calendar.
A Utah close date that ignores the new SNAP application is a close date that loses a week of mix. Skip blogs that invent how many Utah grocers exist. We did not. Utah does not get a homemade earnings multiple on this site. BizBuySell’s 2025 grocery sold average is 3.38; the 2021–2025 IQR is 1.60–3.15.
Wage and tax drag in Utah
Salt Lake Valley rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. Utah County / Provo–Orem rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. Fast-growth suburban conventional. Ogden / Davis rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. North corridor independents. St. George / Washington County rewards operators who already know the language and the produce house. In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth.
DOL’s July 1, 2026 consolidated table lists Utah at Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25). Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Utah Labor Commission posters.
What comes to market
Illustrative, not a quote. A worked Utah sketch — not an offer — uses $219,290 of SDE and $195,289 of stockroom cost. Midpoint 2.51× lands near $745,707.
| Owner | Agency | Close note |
|---|---|---|
| Retail food | Utah DHHS and local health departments | New operator, not a sticker |
| Alcohol | Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services | Approval, not a handshake |
| EBT | USDA FNS | New application |
| Inventory | Count crew | $195,289 illustrative cost |
Lender math
Utah wage levels belong in the payment model. A note that worked in a federal-wage state can fail here.
Privilege path
- Call Utah DHHS and local health departments about the retail food file
- Hold back unsellable on the count
- Tie Utah weekly sales to scan and EBT deposits
- Call Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services about incoming-owner steps
- Read drop minimums and over-advances
- Recast on market rent if the seller owns the box
- Model occupancy as a share of sales — no invented rent/sf
Keep reading SBA 7(a), lease diligence, P&L review, DSCR. Sibling: sell in Utah.
Proof of sales
UT food-tax treatment, as published: Utah taxes food at a reduced combined state/local food rate (commonly summarized near 3%; confirm the Utah Tax Commission combined food rate table for the exact store location rather than hard-coding a single statewide number). Prepared food is taxed at the full rate.
Privilege file: Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. Transfer note: Grocery beer privileges transfer only with DABS/local approval; wine/spirits remain in the state system.. Quota / local-option: State-store siting is a DABS decision…
DOL’s July 1, 2026 table lists Utah at Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25). Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Utah Labor Commission posters.
Clearance practice: Confirm Utah State Tax Commission tax clearance / successor liability on the asset sale.
Retail food: Utah DHHS and local health departments. WIC: Utah Department of Health and Human Services — WIC. Tobacco: Utah State Tax Commission.
Smith’s (Kroger) is the name buyers mention first. The rest of the set is Harmons (regional), Associated Food Stores retailers (Macey’s / Dan’s / etc.), WinCo Foods.
Wholesale names that show up: Associated Food Stores, UNFI. Over-advances and personal guarantees travel.
Salt Lake Valley: Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. Price that pocket as its own trade area.
If the box sits in Utah County / Provo–Orem, say so in the teaser. Fast-growth suburban conventional.
Drive Ogden / Davis before you argue a multiple. North corridor independents.
Drive St. George / Washington County before you argue a multiple. In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth.
Broker-list note (not a HedgeStone license claim): BizBuySell’s licensing article includes Utah among states that commonly require a real estate license for business brokerage. Lists published by BizBuySell, IBBA-style summaries, and trade blogs conflict at the edges — confirm with the state real estate commission before relying on this for a specific mandate. If the deal includes real estate (the building or an interest in real property), a real estate license is required in every state. This sentence is not a claim that HedgeStone or Jason Taken holds a license in this state. Source: https://www.bizbuysell.com/learning-center/article/business-broker-licenses-certifications/ (accessed 2026-09-03).
Incentive language stays qualitative: Federal HFFI may apply; no dollar figure recorded.
Trade areas
Do not treat a Smith’s (Kroger) circular as a Utah comp. That banner is not in your CIM.
Harmons (regional) sets milk-and-egg price perception in parts of Utah. Your independent still has to win trips that banner does not want.
A traveling buyer who only knows Associated Food Stores retailers (Macey’s / Dan’s / etc.) will mis-read a Utah ethnic or rural box. Price the file, not the fascia they drove past.
WinCo Foods sets milk-and-egg price perception in parts of Utah. Your independent still has to win trips that banner does not want.
Associated Food Stores terms in Utah belong in the recast. Drop minimums and personal guarantees travel with the buyer.
UNFI terms in Utah belong in the recast. Drop minimums and personal guarantees travel with the buyer.
Buyer note on Salt Lake Valley: Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on Utah County / Provo–Orem: Fast-growth suburban conventional. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on Ogden / Davis: North corridor independents. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Buyer note on St. George / Washington County: In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth. Drive it before you write an LOI.
Incentives stay qualitative in Utah: Federal HFFI may apply; no dollar figure recorded.
Tobacco / health counterparties: Utah State Tax Commission. Food: Utah DHHS and local health departments.
DOL’s July 1, 2026 consolidated table lists Utah at Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25). Federal $7.25 applies per DOL table. Confirm Utah Labor Commission posters.
Prepared food, fountain, and hot-to-go often sit in a different bucket than center-store grocery. Utah taxes food at a reduced combined state/local food rate (commonly summarized near 3%; confirm the Utah Tax Commission combined food rate table for the exact store location rather than hard-coding a single statewide number). Prepared food is taxed at the full rate. The CIM should say how the POS is coded, not just “food is exempt.”
Skip lottery as a transfer item in Utah unless a later statute creates one. The research pack recorded no statewide lottery.
A Utah CIM that skips SDE and inventory at cost is a brochure.
Co-tenancy and exclusive-use clauses in Utah surprise civilians. Pull them before the LOI.
Ask how Associated Food Stores interacts with Fast-growth suburban conventional. on this Utah lease and this privilege.
Ask how Smith’s (Kroger) interacts with Utah State Tax Commission on this Utah lease and this privilege.
If Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services slips, Utah County / Provo–Orem usually slips with it on a Utah grocery close.
If North corridor independents. slips, UT usually slips with it on a Utah grocery close.
Ask how St. George / Washington County interacts with WinCo Foods on this Utah lease and this privilege.
Ask how UNFI interacts with Fast-growth suburban conventional. on this Utah lease and this privilege.
If Smith’s (Kroger) slips, Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25) usually slips with it on a Utah grocery close.
If Utah DHHS and local health departments slips, Utah County / Provo–Orem usually slips with it on a Utah grocery close.
A CIM that names Utah but hides North corridor independents. is not a Utah CIM.
A CIM that names Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. but hides Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25) is not a Utah CIM.
Put North corridor independents. on a dated workplan. Put Associated Food Stores retailers (Macey’s / Dan’s / etc.) on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading Utah Department of Health and Human Services — WIC next to Smith’s (Kroger) will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Put WinCo Foods on a dated workplan. Put Utah Department of Health and Human Services — WIC on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading St. George / Washington County next to Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Put Utah DHHS and local health departments on a dated workplan. Put UT on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading Associated Food Stores retailers (Macey’s / Dan’s / etc.) next to In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth. will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Put Ogden / Davis on a dated workplan. Put Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading Utah next to Ogden / Davis will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Put Utah Department of Health and Human Services — WIC on a dated workplan. Put WinCo Foods on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading WinCo Foods next to Harmons (regional) will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Sellers who bury Utah State Tax Commission under Smith’s (Kroger) in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury UT under Ogden / Davis in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury Primary independent and Pacific-Islander/Latino corridors. under Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury Salt Lake Valley under WinCo Foods in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury WinCo Foods under In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth. in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury Federal $7.25 (Utah equals the federal minimum wage of $7.25) under Smith’s (Kroger) in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury UT under Ogden / Davis in Utah get a price cut later.
Sellers who bury Fast-growth suburban conventional. under Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services in Utah get a price cut later.
Counsel should see Ogden / Davis and UNFI before a Utah exclusivity period starts.
Counsel should see Associated Food Stores and In-migration; seasonal plus year-round growth. before a Utah exclusivity period starts.
Buyers who understand St. George / Washington County still trip on Ogden / Davis in Utah if the count is sloppy.
Put UT on a dated workplan. Put Salt Lake Valley on the same Utah workplan.
A lender reading Harmons (regional) next to Associated Food Stores will ask better Utah questions than a listings tourist.
Utah County / Provo–Orem plus Associated Food Stores retailers (Macey’s / Dan’s / etc.) is most of the non-price work on a Utah independent.
Buyers who understand North corridor independents. still trip on Smith’s (Kroger) in Utah if the count is sloppy.
Put Utah Department of Health and Human Services — WIC on a dated workplan. Put Utah State Tax Commission on the same Utah workplan.
Worked numbers
Illustrative, not a quote. For a Utah, recast SDE of $212,107 at 1.96×–2.90× plus $251,985 inventory at cost frames a going-concern band of about $667,715 to $867,095. The 2.43× midpoint lands near $767,405. Lease remaining term and license lag can move the check more than the multiple.
$1 trillion in 2025 supermarket sales (FMI). 2.1% average net profit for food retailers in 2025 (FMI Speaks sample). SBA 7(a) can finance a change of ownership; the published maximum is $5 million.
Read turns, DSD, wholesaler, asset sale. Cross-check how a sale works and the FAQ. Format pages live under sell an independent supermarket and buy an independent supermarket. Tools: valuation calculator, cash-to-close, rent checker.